New Orleans        The ACORN National Board is perhaps not a perfect barometer on America, but they are rarely too far off of the pulse of the people, at least their people among low and moderate income families.  The Executive Board meeting in New Orleans convened a call to assess the positions of the board in the wake of Iowa and the deliberations by the members over the last three months.  Iowa had clearly rocked the Board’s world.

    In October a poll of the ACORN members closely tracked the national polls in terms of voter sentiment.  At that time Senator Clinton had been around 50% with Obama in the 30’s and Edwards in the teens.  The leadership has always been more Edwards than the members because of the close working relationships built between Senator Edwards and many of the national leaders from the 2006 minimum wage campaigns.  In October no candidate had the necessary strength to leverage any real decisions by the board.

    Yesterday everything about the question had changed for what sounded like the vast majority of the board members.  Now the question was more when they might move to support Senator Obama.  Edwards had moved up as the second choice for many of the leaders, but Obama had captured the imagination and suddenly acquired a invincibility around his ascendancy.

    With no members in New Hampshire the Executive Committee felt no pressure to make a decision on the process or recommendation this weekend, so another full board call was scheduled for next Sunday evening on the question of whether or not the leaders are ready to go with Obama and if not Obama, whom, but if not Obama, no other candidate seems to have a chance at the super-majority needed to consider anything further.  

    Of course the whole world could change in New Hampshire, but no one on the ACORN board seemed to believe that this weekend.