First Read: For Hillary Clinton, It All Comes Down to Iowa

 

By Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann

 

First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.

 

Take It Easy? Or Take It To The Limit? For Hillary, It All Comes Down To Iowa

The New York Times writes that Hillary Clinton and her campaign are "preparing for a primary fight that could stretch into late April or early May and require a sprawling field operation in states and territories from Pennsylvania to Guam." That's one to way look at it. Here's another way: If she wins Iowa, Clinton will be set up to separate herself from Bernie Sanders in South Carolina and the March 1 primaries -- after which her campaign can start to focus on the general election. But if she loses Iowa, then, yes, a highly competitive Democratic race will extend into April and May. And that's not all -- panicky Democrats will become even more nervous, Joe Biden's phone will ring, Michael Bloomberg's phone will ring, too. Make no mistake, Bernie Sanders isn't going away. But if you assume, one way or another, that Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, Iowa will determine whether she gets it the easy way or the hard way. So on the Democratic side, no contest will be more impactful than the Iowa caucuses, which are now less than two weeks away. 

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Source: NBC News