Democrats blitz Iowa to rev up support

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DES MOINES, (Iowa), Nov 11 (Agencies): The race for the Democratic presidential nomination moved into overdrive Saturday, as candidates scrambled to outdo each other to win over the Iowa activists who will leadoff the contest on Jan. 3. Six Democratic rivals trotted out celebrities, filled the air with populist rhetoric and schmoozed party regulars in the most hectic day of a campaign that's been intense for months.
The city took on a circus-like atmosphere as candidates raced from forums to rallies to marches to receptions, capped by the Iowa Democratic Party's annual fundraising dinner. Nine thousand boisterous activists chanted and cheered during the event, which traditionally begins the sprint to Iowa's leadoff caucuses in January.
Some of the hottest rhetoric of the nigh came from John Edwards, who has sounded an increasingly sharp populist theme in recent weeks.
Edwards made a pointed reference to former President Bill Clinton and his failed effort to overhaul the nation's health care system - an effort led by one of Edwards' rival candidates, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
He offered the sharpest line in a night of tough rhetoric. "I think it is time for us to give America hope," said Edwards. "It is time to give those entrenched interests that are standing against America hell."
But it was the matchup between Clinton and Barack Obama that was watched closest.
Clinton has a significant lead nationally but only a small edge in Iowa, where she is being pressed by both Obama and Edwards. Clinton and Obama stacked the hall with larger contingents than their rivals, Obama bringing along a few thousand red-shirted backers and Clinton with an equal number of noisemaker-sporting supporters.