Edwards gets Iowa boost

He was in the neighborhood to stump for two local Democratic candidates, but John Edwards got a campaign boost of his own during his latest swing through Iowa, topping a field of 2008 Democratic presidential hopefuls in a Des Moines Register poll released Sunday.

Thirty percent of those polled in the first-in-the-nation caucus state said Edwards was their White House pick at this early stage in the race. The former North Carolina senator lead New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who placed second with 26 percent, as well as Massuchusetts Sen. John Kerry, his 2004 ticket-mate, who was a distant third with 12 percent. In the 2004 Iowa caucuses, Edwards posted a come-from-behind second place finish with 32 percent, behind Kerry, the eventual Democratic nominee, who won 37 percent.

"I had my 53rd birthday yesterday, and it's a nice gift to know we still have friends in Iowa," Edwards told reporters after a campaign rally yesterday for congressional candidate Bruce Braley at the United Steelworkers Hall in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Iowa governor Tom Vilsack placed fourth in the poll with 10 percent, followed by former Sen. Tom Daschle (South Dakota), Sen. Russ Feingold (Wisconsin), former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, each at 3 percent, and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, and retired Gen. Wesley Clark, both clocking in at 2 percent.

A senior Edwards adviser echoed his boss' enthusiasm with the results: "It is very early, and things will change a million times, but it is obviously encouraging. Senator Edwards' favorables are a great way to start if he runs" for president.

Edwards remains in Iowa today to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver at events in Iowa City, and at the Maytag Plant in Newton. He stumps once again for Braley tonight at a fundraiser in Des Moines.

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Elsewhere on the 2008 campaign trail...

* Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) will campaign with U.S. Senate hopeful Jim Webb, who is on tomorrow's Democratic primary ballot to face incumbent Sen. George Allen (R-Virginia) this fall. Kerry and Webb will hold a 3:30 p.m. ET rally in Arlington, Virginia. Allen, himself a 2008 presidential hopeful on the Republican side, began airing his first television ads last week, though he is unopposed in tomorrow's primary.

* Expect a frenzy of fundraising this month, as candidates and politicos hope to sock away enough cash by the Federal Election Commission's June 30 mid-year fundraising deadline to claim bragging rights in July. Today's entry: Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) heads to Utah to raise money for his Commonwealth PAC.

* Despite his lackluster fourth-place finish in his home-state Des Moines Register poll, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack starts a busy week raising his profile with events in Washington, D.C., and New Hampshire. He starts a two-day New Hampshire swing on Wednesday, meeting with local Democrats. He will also be one of several 2008 Democratic hopefuls to address a crowd of self-proclaimed liberals at Campaign for America's Future "Take Back America" Conference, which will also feature speeches by Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Kerry, and Russ Feingold.

* Former President Bill Clinton headlines a rally in Orlando, Florida, today, lending a hand to statewide and local candidates in the Sunshine State. Clinton will address, no surprise, "the need to win in November," and how to "get the country on the right track again," according to an aide. Meanwhile, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) starts her day with a non-political ribbon-cutting ceremony at a Lockheed Martin facility in Oswego, New York.

* He's not running for president, but presidential adviser Karl Rove will be in New Hampshire tonight to keynote the state Republican party's annual fundraising dinner. Rove is expected to discuss his thoughts on Republican election hopes in 2006 and 2008. He is not expected to address his role in the ongoing CIA leak investigation, or the state party's ongoing legal troubles. Tickets to the event are $100, but those willing to shell out $250 get to attend a private reception, complete with a photo with Rove.

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Supreme Court finances

At least six of the nine justices on the Supreme Court are millionaires, according to recent financial disclosure documents reviewed by CNN Supreme Court producer Bill Mears.

The reports show that Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and John Paul Stevens each own investments and holdings valued at at least $1 million.

Justice Clarence Thomas may join the list in future years, once he finishes his autobiography, for which he is reportedly earning at least $1 million. Justice Antonin Scalia will file his financial disclosure report in August.

The report also indicates most of the justices did quite a bit of business-related travel in the past year for which they were reimbursed. Breyer flew overseas to England, France, Italy, Australia and Israel. Closer to home he spoke in Des Moines, Iowa, and Philadelphia, among other places. He wrote a book last year, and did several separate media and promotional appearances.

Ginsburg traveled to Puerto Rico for a law school speech, Justice Anthony Kennedy to Thailand for an Asian judicial conference, and Roberts to England to teach a course.

Stevens reported his visit to Wrigley Field in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, last September to throw out the first pitch at a Cubs game.

Financial disclosure reports for members of Congress will be released later this week.

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17,327 days in office, but who's counting?

Anyone remember what they were doing 17,327 days ago?

If you are Sen. Robert Byrd (D), you were on the floor of the United States Senate on that 3rd of January in 1959 getting sworn-in for the very first time to represent the state of West Virginia.

Today, a mere 47 years, 5 months, and 9 days later, Byrd makes the history books by becoming the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history, surpassing the record previously held by the late Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina). Thurmond served from December 1954 to January 2003, with a seven-month break in 1956 -- a total of 17,326 days, according to a painstaking count by the U.S. Senate Historical Office.

Byrd will deliver a speech on the Senate floor today to mark the occasion, and gave his only TV or radio interview on the topic to CNN's Dana Bash.

"Now I have the experience. And I'm going to run again. And I believe the people will re-elect me in West Virginia," he said. "I may be an old man in years. That's all right. Moses was quite an old man, I suppose."

Byrd also addresses the "greatest mistake of my life" as well as his reputation as "The King of Pork." You can catch the rest of the interview on CNN's American Morning (6-10 a.m. ET) and on "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" (4-6 p.m. ET).

Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) are the third- and fourth-longest serving senators, each with over 43 years of service, but they have a ways to go before hoping to catch up with Byrd, who is up for re-election this November. If Byrd wins and completes his 9th term, he will tack on another 2,397 days, for a grand total of 19,724 days of Senate service.

To give you some context for how long ago 17,327 was, Byrd was sworn in the same day Alaska became the nation's 49th state.