Obama Flexes Populist Muscle in Iowa

Watch your back, John Edwards: Barack Obama is targeting your Iowa base of working-class voters. Folksy stump speeches have bolstered Edwards in the weeks leading up to Thursday’s caucuses—but now Obama hopes to catch some of that populist wave by shifting away from his mantra of bipartisanship, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Obama's prior emphasis on rising above partisanship was said to appeal to upper-income voters and independents. His strategy now includes attacks on job outsourcing and Edwards’ populist credentials, as well as vignettes of his own modest upbringing. The new tactic comes as a recent poll shows Edwards moving from third to first among likely Iowa Dem voters with household incomes under $40,000. (More Barack Obama stories.)