Dennis Kucinich is the candidate of choice among far-left liberals due to his calls for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, for universal not-for-profit health care, for fair trade, and for repealing the Patriot Act. I think it is fair to say that the most radical anti-war activists and the most radical critics of income inequality in America are likely to back Kucinich if anyone. His populist message is, at first glance, most closely aligned with that of Edwards, who is also a critic of the "two Americas" and of our participation in Iraq -- Edwards does not go as far left as does Kucinich, but he probably goes farther than Hillary or Obama. One would think, then, that if Kucinich were inclined to support one of the front-runners, it would be Edwards -- as indeed it was in 2004. Not so, as it turns out.

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich asked his supporters in Iowa to consider rival Democrat Barack Obama to be their second choice in the Iowa caucuses, a symbolic gesture by the Ohio congressman who has campaigned little for the leadoff nominating event.

[...]Kucinich said Tuesday that he and Obama were more like-minded [than Kucinich and Edwards], especially in their early opposition to the war in Iraq. "Senator Obama and I have one thing in common: change," Kucinich said Tuesday.

So, the far-left candidate prefers Obama over Edwards! The Des Moine Register calls this a "symbolic gesture" but could it actually impact the outcome? The NYT thinks it could signal a shift of undecideds and supporters of less popular candidates towards Obama, and indeed recent polls suggest that Obama may hold a slim lead over Clinton and Edwards:

The depth of Mr. Kucinich’s support is minimal; just one percent of caucus-goers chose him in today’s Des Moines Register poll, which showed Mr. Obama with a widened lead over his Democratic rivals. But the timing of the Kucinich announcement -- coinciding with the poll results -- suggests a possible “poll effect,” in which marginal candidates and undecided voters can start to move toward a perceived winner.

The latest Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll has Obama, Clinton, and Edwards all in a statistical tie (and Kucinich again at 1%). Also of interest: Huckabee still leads Romney, and Paul has increased his support to 9%. We'll know soon enough how it all shakes out.