Campaigning in Corydon, Iowa, John Edwards told an audience in this farming community that his organization is better today than it was in 2004, and reminded them that at this point four years ago, Howard Dean was the prohibitive favorite, reports Amy Lorentzen for the Associated Press:

Democrat John Edwards tried to make light of Hillary Rodham Clinton's big lead in national polls Monday, saying that four years ago it looked as if Howard Dean might run away with the nomination.

Edwards, campaigning in the state that will hold leadoff caucuses in January, said his organization is much stronger than at this point in 2004 when he eventually won a surprise second-place finish.

Clinton now leads in Iowa as well as nationally, according to the latest polling. The Des Moines Register on Sunday had her at 29 percent in the state, up from 21 percent previously, with Edwards at 23 percent, down from 29. Barack Obama was at 22.

Asked about a belief among some that a Clinton nomination is inevitable, Edwards brushed the idea aside.

"I lived through the inevitability of Howard Dean," he said.

Read the rest at the link above. You can't blame Edwards for taking the most optimistic view - if he's going to stay in the race, he has to put a happy face on bad news.

One big difference, of course, between this cycle and 2004 is that Edwards was an unknown underdog back then, and was well placed to take advantage as Dean melted down, and as the nasty ad campaign between frontrunners Dean and Gephardt turned Iowa voters off. This time around, he's been organizing in the state for nearly five years, has been leading in most of the polls of the state since late March until recently, and has redirected campaign resources from other states to Iowa.

That doesn't mean he still can't win the state, despite his slide into third place in three of the last six polls - he's close enough to be in striking distance. But 2008 won't be 2004, either. Neither Hillary nor Obama is likely to commit the sort of series of gaffes that torpedoed Dean.

Part of the problem Edwards and Obama have is they are both trying to run "positive" campaigns and avoid pointing out Clinton's weaknesses directly. Each wishes the other would rough her up instead, so he can have the "high road" to himself. But the more people become convinced Hillary is "inevitable," the more Democrats will begin to close ranks around her - and by then, they won't want to hear the criticisms. It will be too late.