Dr. Williams, I'm in jail...

Pieces of conversation overheard at campaign events that did not, repeat did not happen, but would have made for some interesting bail conversations.

1/1 at Richardson event. "Hey, lets go party boy Bill when he comes in!"

1/1 at Edwards event. "Dude that guy tried to send us to the wrong location, lets jump him!"

1/1 at Obama rally. "We're in the front row! Crowd surfing!! Dude you're going up!"

1/2 at Clinton event.  We're roped in, lets just jump the rope."

1/2 at Huckabee event. "You want to get kicked out, start up a F*** Huck chant-60s style"

1/3 during volunteer work.  "We need Clinton to screw up, go put on a Clinton t-shirt and cause a traffic accident!"

1/3 during volunteer work. "Do you think they'd get angry if we plastered a Ron Paul sign on Obama headquarters?"

Again, NONE OF THESE THINGS HAPPENED!!  One of the best parts of a Manchester College education is knowing where that line is.  Now where's my whipped cream pie...

Thank You

Thank you Iowa-  For your politics, your people, your enthusiasm, and your sales on gloves, hats, and long underwear.

Thank you John Edwards- For propelling us to the national spotlight as professional background personnel. 

Thank you Bill Clinton- For giving a class of underclassmen from the middle of one of the reddest states in the nation, a handshake and your vision for the coming century.

Thank you Hawk eyes- For your infectious enthusiasm, Midwest hospitality, and patience with us as we inundated you with calls and knocks on doors.

Thank you Dr. Williams- For leading us through sweaty crowds and frozen roads in constant pursuit of the next candidate.

Thank you all.  Its been an incredible ride.  See you in Des Monies 2012! 

Giuliani's Money Crunch

Using one of the most unconventional strategies ever thought up, you would think that Rudy Giuliani would have planned a little better. It has been his plan all along to focus primarily on Florida and to skip the two earliest states. He believed that if he could make it to Florida, he would be all right. He may now, more than ever, be realizing the mistake he made. It has been found that some of Giuliani’s staffers had been asked to work without pay throughout the month of January, in order that financial resources could be focused on the Florida primary. This financial concern may never have happened if he would have not skipped the early states where as a result he could have gained very important media coverage and plentiful donations. I wonder if the Giuliani campaign is considering a mistake in their strategy at this point in time?!

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/11/top-giuliani-staffers-to-go-without-pay/

Before going to Iowa, I was interested in politics, but not as much as I am now. This presidential race is more so now than ever something that I am excited to be witnessing and eager to see the results. It is an exciting time in the world of politics that is for sure. With Super Tuesday fast approaching, I am eager to see which candidates drop out and which candidates accomplish their goals better than even they expected.

Overall Impressions

Before taking this class, I thought I knew a fair amount about the Presidential elections.  Now that we've returned from our week in Iowa, I've come to the realization-- I KNEW NOTHING!  I am so grateful that I took this opportunity.  This will be my first presidential election that I can participate in and I believe this will be the most informed vote I will ever cast.  Meeting the candidates and attending rallies without a media channel has aloud me to digest, evaluate and form my own opinions about issues.  

Not many people are granted the chance to work for a presidential campaign.  I have gained an immense amount of respect for the candidates, their families, and their staff.  Countless ours go into making the bid for the White House.  I could not imagine working so hard, sacrificing in almost every aspect of your life and falling short of the ballot.  But the previously mention persons are not the only ones who contribute to the victory of candidates.  The volunteers and people of Iowa take their caucus just as serious.  They had been bombarded with political information for almost two years, yet up to the day of the caucus most still answered their doors or phones to hear one last bit of information.  

Observing and participating in the Iowa Caucuses has lead me to believe that caucuses should be held across all 50 states.  Some people may be hesitant to vote for their first choice because they feel that candidate may not make it, so they avoid choosing them altogether.  Instead with a caucus, people can still show their support for their first choice, and if the first choice is not viable, their vote can still count with a second choice candidate.  Caucuses really do give the power back to the people and represent constituent views better.

debate and rotarians

Yesterday our class was able to share our experience with some members of an energetic club of rotarians. They explained to us about the rotarian club which involves serving the community and gathering to socialize. They pay alot of fines when they gather but it is in good fun. we explaind to them how important the hawkeyes view thier caucus and go and see the candidates more than once. We also explained the caucus system to them. The meal was pleeasing also including bbq chicken. Also last night was the Republican party debate in South Carolina. The candidates discussed about if there is a coming recession what needs to be done. they all agreed lower taxes would help. Energy independence would also save Americans money. Wheter the Reagan coalition had been broken up, if they would have reacted to the Iran patrol boat the same way. They also spoke on what they would do with pakistan. They agreed that the party had abandoned the principles that they came to power with. Pushing for more spending and goverment was a bad idea and was part of the reason they lost power. Ron Paul was the most vocal saying he was the only true republican. He taughted that Robert Taft who was viewed as mr. republican in the 1950's did not want us in NATO and that he would not engage us in nation building and withdraw from iraq. He also pointed out that he had never voted for a raise in taxes or an unbalenced budget. On the Iran patrol boat confrontation all the candidates said they would support thier milatary commander's decisions except ron Paul who ranted on the war. Fred Thompson who needs to have a good showing in south carolina to stay alive kept making rants at Mike Huckabee as beng a liberal. Huckabee made jokes about some of the accusations and defended himself. Rommney and Rudy have both withdrown from south carolina leaving McCain and Huckabee in a close race there.

The primary in South Carolina will be held about two weeks from now on January 26th, and the candidates are hard at work to gain votes. In an average of three recent polls, Obama leads with 44%, Clinton follows with 30%, and Edwards finishes with only 15% (margin of error is 4.4). How things really turn out will depend on a few key factors.

According to an article by Dan Lothian, there is no winning the south without winning the votes of African Americans. In South Carolina the African American vote is divided between those loyal to the Clinton family and those wanting Obama to win. Personally, I worry a little about the idea of electing family members of a former president so soon; it’s beginning to look a little monarchial to me—Bush Sr., B. Clinton, B. Clinton, Bush Jr., Bush Jr., H. Clinton. That’s not to say Hillary wouldn’t make an excellent president, but it makes me a little nervous. However, I don’t think it’s a good idea to elect anyone based on their sex, race, or family ties alone.

Polls in July, 2007, showed that Clinton was leading the field with 52% of votes while Obama trailed with 33%. In December the polls showed Clinton at 46% and Obama with 45%. The Clinton campaign is relying heavily on votes from women and momentum from New Hampshire. Obama’s campaign will rely on the youth vote and those in the higher income bracket. According to the polls where the African American vote will go is still anyone’s guess. We shouldn’t quite forget John Edwards yet either. He won 37% of the African American vote in South Carolina in 2004 and won the state. Though he trails in the polls right now we know that those haven’t been very accurate recently.

http://politicalref.com/PollCenter/StatePolls/SouthCarolina.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/10/sc.obama.clinton/index.html

Some come for the Chuck- but stay for the Huck.

On 1 Jan 07, we attended a rally for Mike Huckabee at the Val Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, IA. There were 300-400 people there. The sex distribution appeared to be pretty equal, although there were maybe more males than females. Most of the people there were over the age of 40 and even older. Everyone was White and they appeared to mostly be either farmers or lower-middle class.

Something that I noticed is that Mike Huckabee seemed to have a lot of die-hard supporters and there were very few undecided voters there. I was able to talk to one very committed Mike Huckabee supporter, a man who told us he was in his seventies. He said that after he went to see Ronald Reagan inaugurated, he swore that he would never go to another inauguration again. “But I'd go for Mike,” he said. “I'd go to see Mike.”

Unlike many of the other events we attended, there was no clear person in charge. Before Huckabee spoke, a band headed by a former Iowa state legislator played a few songs. There were also people from an anti-IRS organization called FairTax there handing out shirts and baseball caps. Also unlike some other events we attended, Mike Huckabee was on time.

It was also different in that it was not recruiting new supporters as much as it was rallying the ones he already had. He quoted the Bible (to great cheers) and didn't talk about exactly what he was going to do as much as how important it was that he was able to do what he wanted to do.

Also there was actor Chuck Norris, who endorsed Mike Huckabee. Apparently Chuck's endorsement is doing more than some might think- according to the NPR story linked above, Chuck Norris (who, by the way, has counted to infinity twice) has drawn lots of young people to Huckabee's rallies, and they liked Huckabee's politics enough that they're now considering voting for him.

After all, Mike Huckabee's bumper stickers don't have glue on them. They stick because Chuck Norris told them to.

Caucus or Primary

In the past month many questions have been asked about preferences for either a primary or caucus system. After having the opportunity to observe a caucus, I believe that the caucus process is a more effective way to get voters involved in the political process that is necessary for democracy. With a caucus it requires the participant to be more involved with knowing what the candidate stands for. It isn’t as simple as just choosing a name that is on the ballot that sounds good. In most caucus states, such as Iowa the candidates spend time letting the voters get to know them. This leads to a more informed voting group. So it is my opinion that caucuses are more effective in getting more people involved in choosing the leader of our country.

Staged or Not it Worked!

We all saw the emotional side of Hillary Clinton just before the New Hampshire primary this past week. This is a very different side of Hillary that we have seen. Unlike her normal demeanor she allowed the public to see she was a real person with feelings too. However, I question the motives behind this sudden change in character. The polls had shown that she was loosing female voters to her rival, Barack Obama. And it has been no secret that many women have felt she was cold and incapable of showing emotion. Many women that I had spoken too have felt this way and were unsure of whether they would vote for her. So it is my opinion that this was nothing more than a staged political strategy in order to gain back the lost female voters. Staged or not though it was an effective strategy. She got the votes and was able to come from her third place position in Iowa to the number one spot in New Hampshire. And she has stuck with it too. Not only is she showing more personality and emotion, she has begun to dress more femininely as well. She has now lost some of that politician coldness that had been turning off voters, now showing people that not only can a female participate in the boy’s game, she doesn’t have to loose her personality while doing it. This is an effective change that should help her in other states as it did in New Hampshire. Already some of the women I have spoken with who had not decided who they would vote for were taking another look at Hillary, and those who had decided to support her were happy with this new show of emotion. So it is going to be interesting to watch the way she portrays herself during the rest of the election and see if she does gain more female votes because of this new emotional side.

The Most “Unconventional” Strategy Ever!

Rudy Giuliani could appear to some that he does not even care about the presidential race, by way of how much campaigning he has been doing. He has campaigned very little in both Iowa and New Hampshire, two important states in which candidates can gain recognition. Giuliani has recognition to his name, but not all of it is good by any means. In the book Grand Illusion, the authors accused Giuliani of not caring about the health care of the clean-up workers at the World Trade Center, such as requiring respirators. Most, if not all, of the workers have become sick in one way or another. Giuliani is accused of not enforcing health standards as well as saying the air immediately following the attack on the towers was ok to breathe. One other area he is criticized for is that he actually took people on tours of the trade center when it was not healthy and some of the tourists, which were celebrities and high-ranked officials, were in high heels.
Due to this negative image, you would think that Giuliani would want to campaign a great deal to give himself a positive image.

One of the most interesting things about the Giuliani campaign is that they are taking an “unconventional” approach to their strategy. They have avoided both Iowa and New Hampshire for the most part and are focusing their strengths on Florida. They feel that if they make it to Florida then they will gain the momentum that they need to keep going on with the campaign. Because Giuliani has skipped Iowa and New Hampshire, he has missed out on an extensive amount of media coverage and as a result of that he could lose out on potential donations. Also as a result of his “unconventional” strategy he could lose the latter states in which he was banking on. Giuliani and his campaign has been saying that it has been their strategy all along to skip Iowa and New Hampshire and focus on Florida, California, Illinois, and New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/politics/08rudy.html?ref=politics

Will Giuliani’s “unconventional” strategy last? One of the most important things for a front-runner to maintain is their favorable image. If Giuliani is not competitively campaigning against his opponents, how can he expect to gain any positive media coverage or any resulting donations? The advantages of front-runners are most notably seen in the beginning of the race. Giuliani has not taken advantage of his name recognition in the campaigns in Iowa or New Hampshire. Giuliani has almost not been a contender in the campaigns thus far, so how does he honestly expect to prosper in latter races. The biggest challenge that the strategy of Giuliani’s campaign is not considering is the lack of media coverage and the resulting votes and donations. If Giuliani’s strategy works and he some how pulls through the race and gains the nomination, he will defy a lot of odds because as the research shows, he should not do well later on throughout the race.

Caucus! The Musical

When I heard that we were going to see a musical that was basically a satire about the Iowa Caucuses, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I don’t know if I thought it was going to be set back further in the past, but I was not expecting what I saw. On the preview online I listened to “Anything for a Vote,” which caught my attention, and I was immediately laughing and counting down the days until we would see it in person. Elden Wise, the main character was just a normal Iowan with a wife, a daughter, and a son. There is a reporter who told them that they would all have to keep it a secret who they wanted to caucus for, and that they would reveal it during Christmas break. The Wise family did not see a problem with that because they were “One Happy Family.” Come Christmas break, the young daughter had been away at college for a whole semester, and became a feminist. The son finally admitted that he had been gay for years. The wife decided on her religious values, and Elden Wise had already decided on the most conservative, womanizing, unintelligent candidate. Needless to say that they were no longer “One Happy Family.”
In the end they find a non-frontrunner in the diner that Elden always hangs out at. He speaks to all of them, and the whole family decides that they like him the most. The musical was basically about how once the candidates start showing up in Iowa after Christmas, the people of Iowa never get a break from candidates, campaign workers, the media, and all of the other “rats” (rats describe people like us who follow the candidates around-as described in an Iowa newspaper). This musical is hilariously real, and it has been almost a week now and I still can’t get the songs out of my head.

President Clinton

Don't worry everyone, I am not calling Hillary Clinton "President" just yet, I am just behind on blogging....This is about Bill.
I was definitely the most excited to see President Clinton. I have always liked him, and I could not wait to hear him speak in person. He talked about Hillary, and mostly her past experience and what she has done for the people. He talked about what she did straight out of college, how instead of going to work for a big law firm and make a lot of money, she went to work to defend children’s rights. Obviously, he was able to talk about Hillary on a more personal level. He discussed the strengths that Hillary possesses that would make her a good President, and he told us how much he believed in her. To be honest, even though I listened to the entire speech, I think that I was so excited about watching Bill Clinton speak, and thinking ahead to getting a picture with him after the speech that it was hard for me to pay attention to everything he said. All in all he was a very impressive speaker, and I think that even though President Clinton can be looked upon as bringing her down, he is also making out to be a great asset to Hillary’s campaign.

John Edwards

On caucus day, Jessie, Ben and I were able to attend another Edwards event. It was at a small steelworkers union. When we got there we asked what we could do to set up, and they told us that they didn’t need any more help, so we just went up to the front and hung around the stage area. When Jessie and I came out of the bathroom, Ben told us that we were going to be up on the stage. He was about 15 minutes late, but his speech only lasted about 10 minutes. He spoke about the middle class and the importance of the steelworkers’ votes. Since it was the morning of the caucuses, his speech was more of a “rally the troops” speech than an informative speech.

Everyone there from the steelworkers union had obviously made up their minds to vote for him. Another good part about seeing John Edwards was that we were right behind him on stage during his speech, and it was broadcast on all of the major news networks. On YouTube Jessie can be seen throughout the entire speech. FoxNews showed me shaking John Edwards’ hand, and I was in a picture on MSNBC.com right behind him. Along with seeing all of the candidates and getting to work for them, it was also super cool that our class got their 15 minutes of fame.

Obama's Loss in New Hampshire and Kerry's Endorsement

After a somewhat shocking second place finish in New Hampshire, Obama is on to South Carolina to continue his bid for the democratic nomination. The outcome in New Hampshire is certainly an example of how wrong polls can be. Up until that night Obama had been leading in the polls in New Hampshire by a double digit margin. Why then did he end up placing second? It seems that women voted primarily for Hillary, unlike in Iowa where they voted for Obama. Hillary also seemed to have more of the vote from middle and working class people with less then college degrees. Obama on the other hand obtained more votes from the upper middle and upper class and from those with a college degree or more. Could this be a sign of an underlying class divide between the two candidates?
If in fact Obama appeals mostly to upper middle and upper class voters with higher educations I wonder how Kerry’s very recent endorsement will help. Kerry had a very similar problem in the 2004 elections. He just didn’t have the appeal that he needed with lower income voters; many saw him as a stuffy, wealthy, white man. Since Obama seems to have received most of his votes in New Hampshire from more educated and better-off voters could this be a problem he will come to face?
I also think many people were surprised in Kerry’s announcement to endorse Obama since his running mate from 2004, John Edwards, is in fact running for the nomination as well. Kerry made a statement to try and smooth things over. He said that he felt that the people he’s worked with in the past are certainly hard workers and capable of becoming president, but over all that Obama is the best candidate.
Kerry continued the trend of talking about change, probably because that has been Obama’s key position even before it became the million dollar word for so many candidates. Kerry said that Obama was the man that could bring unity back to Washington and bring the change that America needed. He also said, “history gives up moments. We decide what to do with them”. He went on to say that this is the moment to choose Barack as our candidate and future president. It will be interesting to see the exit polls from South Carolina; if Obama will be able to appeal to voters of each class and all education levels and also whether Kerry’s endorsement will help.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3823789452582543893

Finally…a Free Day

Our last day in Iowa allowed for some relaxation. We all went to the state museum in Des Moines to see an exhibit about the history of the caucuses in Iowa, and then went to a showing of “Caucus: The Musical.” The musical was hilarious, but it also highlighted some of the truths about the Iowa Caucus and campaigning as a whole. First of all, it showed how different candidates try to attack each other to gain votes. It also demonstrated how much of a large roll the media plays in politics. When these realities are put on the stage, they can both make you laugh and think at the same time. I would recommend that anyone who ever has the opportunity to see the musical should go ahead and see it. It is very worthwhile.

New Hampshire Suprise

Well Senator Clinton and Senator Obama have not split the surprises. Obama surprised everyone in Iowa and now Clinton has returned the favor in the New Hampshire primaries. Obama was ahead of Hillary Rodham Clinton by an average of 8% points in almost every poll leading up to the New Hampshire primaries. People in New Hampshire also said through a poll that 50% believed the senator from Illinois had the best chance to unite America. Then 46% stated Obama had the best chance of beating a Republican. He had double digit leads in both of these stats the day before the voting. Yet Hillary Clinton pulled out the victory card by 2%. She won by winning the major city counties. Not only was she winning the heart of the cities but she would win the surrounding counties with the denser populations. Obama still got his younger crowds through the college towns, but there were not enough voters to be able to catch Mrs. Clinton. All of a sudden Hillary stole Obama's momentum and is on the up swing. She revamped her winning speech and I thought she had a good slogan with the people being the cause of her recent uprise. She got off the "Change" bandwagon and found herself her own slogan. She said that while being in New Hampshire, the people spoke to her, and through them she found her own voice. I think Barack Obama is going to have to talk more about issues and values more than his "Hope" and "Change" speeches. Even though they are very inspirational, too many have heard them and he need to defend and explain his positions on issues to get back in the lead. I'm hoping he will be able to fight and win South Carolina and then win the majority on Feb. 5. GO BARACK OBAMA!!!

Caucus Day!!!

On Thursday night, the event that I have devoted a week to and millions all over the world have been waiting for arrived. It happened in a small auxiliary room in a public library in Ames, Iowa. The room was packed full with residents of the local community. It was hot and, to be honest, a little smelly. There were people every age level, socioeconomic status, and race. Everyone was dressed very informally. Before the event started, most of the people filling the room were chatting politely amongst themselves.
Then it all started. The room was divided into candidate preference groups. When the candidates’ support was tallied, the undecided participants (who were supporting nonviable candidates) were told to select a candidate from among the viable ones. This is when it really got really hectic. Supporters of viable candidates were hustling to persuade undecided voters to join their candidate. There was arguing, shouting, chanting, and all around chaos. After 30 minutes of realignment, the new supporter followings were counted and the delegates were assigned. Barack Obama received 52% (6 delegates), John Edwards received 29% (3 delegates), and Hillary Clinton received 19% (2 delegates).
I enjoyed this experience because I got to see first hand what real democracy is supposed to be like. It was real people talking with one another about what is best for our country. I feel like more states should adopt this kind of procedure for allotting delegates.

And Then There Were Three...

After coming in fourth place again, now in New Hampshire, Bill Richardson is throwing in the towel. After finishing with 2% of the votes in Iowa and less than 5% in New Hampshire, he gave a farewell speech in his home state of New Mexico on Thursday. I am a current member of Bill Richardson for President campaign. Tonight, I received an email in my inbox entitled "Thank You" from Mr. Richardson himself. I was extremely surprised by the following:

"Now that my time in this national campaign has come to an end, I would urge those who supported my candidacy to take a long and thoughtful look at the remaining Democrats. They are all strong contenders who each, in their own way, would bring desperately needed change to our country. All I ask is that you make your own independent choice with the same care and dedication to this country that you honored me with during this campaign. At this time, I will not endorse any candidate."

Bill Richardson is not endorsing another candidate. This comes as a shock to a lot because I think many, like myself, were expecting him to endorse Obama and ask his supporters to do the same (much the way Kucinich had). I think this is another strategic move because it keeps his options open for vice president offers from all three front running candidates. I really hope that this works out for him, and that he does, in fact, become the vice presidential nominee.

Endorsement a Boost?

Today John Kerry endorsed Barack Obama's campaign. Kerry was seen on stage with Obama both giving award winning smiles. I can't help but wonder if Senator Obama is really that happy about an endorsement for a man who lost the presidential election in 2004. Senator John Kerry defeated John Edwards in 2004 to run against George W. Bush, the incumbent. Obviously Bush won and has been in the White House for the last four years. Because of Kerry's loss I don't see what the bonus was for him to endorse Barack Obama. And then many columnist are saying that this is a boost to Obama after losing the New Hampshire primaries. I don't think this helps or hurts Obama at all. I don't feel like Kerry has had a lot of supporters to tell to go over to Obama's side. Almost doubly interesting is that Kerry did not endorse John Edwards who he chose as his vice presidential running mate in 2004. Edwards responded, "I respect his decision, continue to believe that this election is about the future, not the past, and that the country needs a president who will fight aggressively to end the status quo and change the Washington system and to give voice to all of those whose voices are ignored in the corridors of power." In South Carolina, Kerry spoke about many slams against Obama's age  saying, "We are electing judgment and character, not years on this earth." If there is one other person who would be better not to endorse anyone it would be George W. Bush. 

Rotary Club

We met with the Rotary Club today for a lunch and to tell them about our trip to Iowa. I was unaware of who the Rotarians were, or what they were about, but they friendly, welcoming and talkative. I found out the the Rotary Club is an international organization that does service work in the community. I met a man name Gil who was willing to answer any questions I had about the Rotary Club; and told me that the Rotary Club's paramount goal was to eradicate the world of polio; and Gil told me they are nearly successful. We sang 2 songs; one regarding Rotarians and the other was Row Row Row Your Boat. Dr. Williams had selected 4 students to talk more at length about the Caucus and the trip overall, but then allowed for questions from the Rotarians. I had the opportunity to talk about Mike Huckabee's campaign and his organization compared to the other campaigns which have outspent Huckabee 20-1. I feel like the Rotarians enjoyed us speaking, and I enjoyed attending a Rotary Club meeting.

John McCain is the President of New Hampshire

John McCain was the big winner in New Hampshire; with Mitt Romney trailing behind him. Hillary Clinton lives up to her husband's title of the "comeback kid" with a surprising win in New Hampshire. What does that mean? Well, for the Democratic race, it could show that Hillary has once again taken control of the race and perhaps stopped Obama's momentum in this race.
The Republican race has a much less telling story. John McCain bypassed Iowa to concentrate on New Hampshire; just as he did in 2000. Rudy Giuliani has skipped the first two states to focus on Florida and Super Tuesday. So, the Republicans have not yet had a caucus or primary where every candidate has tried to win it. Mike Huckabee just seemed to be a footnote in New Hampshire, finishing 3rd, which everyone expected. In the convoluted Republican race one thing is certain this year; no candidate is a clear front-runner and the nomination is anyone's guess. Many pundits have said that Mike Huckabee was a one-hit wonder in Iowa, John McCain was a one-hit wonder in New Hampshire, and Mitt Romney may finish as the "bride's maid" in every state; making him the eventual "bride." Huckabee was leading in South Carolina, but McCain has recently overtaken him. Former Senator Fred Thompson is known in the south and may be a dark horse in South Carolina and may throw a wrench into the whole system. Though McCain is slightly ahead of Huckabee is the latest South Carolina poll; there could be a candidate chosen for Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Michigan could go to Romney, who has won the nominal Wyoming. The Democratic nomination is really only a two horse race between Clinton and Obama; while the Republican party is pandemonium. Super Tuesday will reveal a lot for both parties, but the Republican nominee may not be decided until the end of summer

New Hampshire and beyond

The new hampshire primary shocked the polls on the democrat side. They all predicted a victory for obama but the former fisrst lady won it. This revived he campaign. The democrats have no delegates in Michigan and look ahead to South Carolina and Nevada. Obama recieved a boost in Nevada with the endoresment of two major hispanic unions. the African American vote looks to keep South Carolina a close race. Clinton got a bost with the endorsement of two former ambassodors who had endorsed bill richardson. Regardless of who wins those two states both candidates will be alive and activly campaigning on super tuesday. Clinton is leading in big states like california and new york. Obama will most likly win Illinios. Edwards may win some of the southern states but will not win enough to take the nomination. The race will most likely carry on until the at least the end of February before either candidate has enough delegates to secure the nomination On the republican side John McCain won the New Hampshire primary. This was not very unexpected. He skipped Iowa to focus on this state. He won it 8 years ago also. Now the republicans have a close three way race in Michigan with McCain, Rommney, and Huckabee. Michigan is a make or break state for Rommney. IF he wins he can carry on with momentum into Florida a week later, Maine on february 1 and then super tuesday. Huckabee is focusing more on south Carolina wher it is pretty much just him and McCain because both Rudy and rommney have withdrew from that state. If Huckabee wins South Carolina, he will have momentum going into super tuesday. Southern states like Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Missiouri, Tennessee, and his home state of Arkansas vote. Kansas another state he can win votes 4 days after super tuesday. Mccain's home state of arizona votes on super tuesday along with other states with many independents. Rudy if he wins Florida or not will still be alive on super tuesday and will win New York and new jersy. It is likly that the republicans will have at least a two way race after super tuesday with a posssible three way race. I predict one of the 4 front runners will not be around after super tuesday. If one or both parties still had a race by the time it turns to Indiana that would be improbable but is still possible. I am still hoping.

Is the Mack Coming Back?

Senator John McCain finished first for the Republican candidates Tuesday night at the New Hampshire caucuses. By choosing not to campaign in Iowa, McCain was able to campaign himself to a victory in New Hampshire. The win, however, should not have come as much of a surprise. His strategy strongly resembles the approach he took when campaigning for the 2000 Presidential elections. McCain beat George W. Bush by 18 percent, who then went on to win his party's nomination. So, he has won New Hampshire twice now, but will it be enough this time to get him the nomination?

McCain should also be concerned with the possibility of having to share his ability to appeal to Independents and Moderates with Senator Barack Obama. If the two win their own party's nominations, one dilemma both will have to face is the struggle for the voters who fall in the middle of the road and whom they both attract. Obama and McCain share important qualities to voters, such strong leadership and electability. The contest would be decided strictly based on which issues are the most important and how they should be solved according to the majority of the population.

Although McCain had the potential to enter the race as a front-runner because he is well-known, he has not made the effort to match other candidates' fund-raising and spending or to campaign enough to maintain his advantage. Currently, he is leading for the Republican candidates in the South Carolina polls. However, Governor Mike Huckabee has been striking a chord with many Christians, and in the past, McCain has struggled to gain their support. For this presidential election, though, he has made great efforts to reach out to Christian voters, but will it be enough to win South Carolina? A victory could propel him to win other Southern states.

McCain can offer Republican voters a middle ground between Governors Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. Besides his experience and credentials, McCain can offer the unique combination of consistent conservative views with the willingness to compromise and collaborate with Democrats for solutions to the nation's issues. If McCain wants to compete with the "big boys," he should hit the fund-raising, spending, and campaigning hard. He needs more media attention than winning the New Hampshire caucuses will give him.

Rotary Club Meeting

I would like to thank the Rotary Club for having us at there meeting. Ben, Kristi, Andrew, and Josh did a great job presenting our group and informing the members what we observed and participated in while in Iowa. The two gentlemen that I sat next to were very nice and it was a really nice time having conversations about our trip to the caucus. The two men also explained to Tyler, Andrew, and I what the Rotary Club was. From what I got it is an organization that does community projects and right now they are putting money to a Polio Organization. They also sang "Happy Birthday" and "Happy Anniversary" to people who these fit to. It was a really nice experience to eat and have conversations with the members and I thank them again for inviting us to their meeting.

The Underdog

The presidential candidates are moving on to Super Tuesday after last night’s conclusion of the New Hampshire primary. The results indicate a clear-cut victory for Sen. John McCain on the Republican ballot and a surprising conquest for Sen. Hillary Clinton on the side of the Democrats. These two candidates have undoubtedly put forth countless hours of time, money, and hard work to achieve their latest claims in this years contest. Taking in depth looks at their campaign strategies leaves the impression that they by all means should have won as compared to someone like Mike Huckabee. While some have the resources to claim a front-runner status Mike Huckabee is unable to do so.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has had success on the 2008 campaign trail with an astonishing win in Iowa, but that does not erase the fact that he is going to struggle to make ends meet. The first indicator that Mike is a non front-runner candidate is his lack of funds that are crippling his ability to run a multi-state campaign. Although he has raised millions of dollars it is not enough to compete with the personal wealth of Mitt Romney, and long-time running foe John McCain. Millions of people, if not from Arkansas, had little idea who Huckabee was when the race began. His one state campaign blitz worked well for him in Iowa, but the lack of ability to use that amount of resources in New Hampshire threw him into a third place rally.

The strategy Mike is imploring leads one to believe that he is not a front-runner. The characteristics of the campaign, although they have not changed much from Iowa to New Hampshire, indicate that the candidates he is running against are much more resourceful. One thing that really sticks out is his staging of events, his solicited invitations to appear on talk shows, and most recently his choice to hit the airwaves. The events in Iowa included a live band and a guest appearance by Chuck Norris. He appeared on David Lettermen the night before the New Hampshire primary, and Jay Leno the night before the Iowa caucus. In most recent headlines Mike is going to sit down with Stephen Colbert. According to his website, www.mikehuckabee.com, he is also planning a media outpouring by hitting the airwaves. All these facts indicate a man struggling to compete with the big money spenders of the 2008 presidential race. He is obviously using free media resources to gain as much ground on candidates as possible. My guess is that the paid media advertisements have been decreasing on his end as well.

Huckabee’s stepping stone approach is well illustrated with his choice to run hard and strong at the onset of the Iowa caucus. His ideas obviously struck a chord in Iowans hearts because he won, and in doing so it has energized his campaign. It shocked the media, and after winning the caucus, donations began to pour in accompanied by volunteers. His non front-runner status can be summed up in his words after the Iowa caucus, “It wasn't just that we surprised people with a second showing, it's that we did it with so few resources. I mean, this really was feeding the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves, an amazing kind of day for us."

Mike Huckabee now thinks of himself as a top tier Republican candidate and does so with good reason. Any “small man” that can win Iowa should take pride in what he has done. Personally, I do not think that Mike has a big shot at becoming the presidential nominee, but then again people probably said the same thing about Jimmy Carter. I think that campaigning today focuses too much on the importance of having money in order to win office, and that it is a terrible thing. Our founding fathers did not spend millions of dollars to win elections; they talked politics and preached their philosophy with whatever resources they had. The United States needs and deserves change, and I think no matter whom gets elected this year that change is hopeful.

What to Watch for in New Hampshire

With the Iowa caucus over the candidates are rallying around New Hampshire, the next big U.S. primary. Tuesday's event will shed more light on each party's presidential nomination. With the event ending at eight o' clock one can expect to know the results by midnight.

One should expect the New Hampshire primary results, at least on the side of the Republicans, to be drastically different from those in Iowa. The not always accurate polls that are being released show Sen. John McCain surging. One could easily expect this though because he relinquished rights to Iowa in order to focus his campaign strategy in the hearts of New Hampshire voters. Mitt Romney is his closest foe in New Hampshire. Romney's multi-million dollar personal bank account should help him gain some ground on McCain. The clear-cut winner in Iowa, Mike Huckabee, will most likely take third place. His win in Iowa may have been a severe anomaly that proves how unrepresentative Iowa is, but we will leave that one up to those who already have their degrees. Huckabee is also lacking in sufficient funds, which will greatly hinder his running.

The Democrats should get a similar result as in Iowa. Barack Obama will most likely take New Hampshire by a moderate margin. The race for second will be between John Edwards and Hillary Clinton as was the case in Iowa. Hillary recently teared up on national television, which might prove a disaster or beneficial. The voters may decide she is weak and would be in office as well, others might see a sincerity in her desire to make a change in this great nation. It will be interesting to see whether Barack will get more women voters again. John Edwards will most likely take second place. His southern democrat style leaves room for more independents, and New Hampshire will most likely rally behind his vigor and passion.

The New Hampshire primary will be a big indicator of whats to come on super Tuesday. The 2008 presidential race will most likely become one of the tightest races in this country's history. John McCain and Barack Obama are the two candidates I see "taking the cake" in N.H. Everyone should tune in it will be interesting.

Caucus: The Musical

Caucus the musical, created by Robert John Ford, turned out to be one of the most exciting events in Iowa. The musical has become so popular that people write about it in the New York Times, the Denver Star, and talk about it on popular television shows. The reason that it has become so popular is its profound ability to to be funny while sustaining an aura of seriousness. Put on by Iowa natives, the musical gives the outsider an insight to what exactly Iowans think, and have to deal with every four years the campaign trail runs through their state.

The day started out with breakfast and a drive to Des Moines. We stopped at the State Historical Building where the show was to be held later in the evening. After touring the museum for hours my fellow students and I decided to test our street smarts in downtown Des Moines. The day proved full of fun with a visit to the science center, a superb dinner at a local microbrewery, and the musical.

The musical featured a typical Iowa farm family that had been chosen by a big time journalist to observe during the caucus. There are four major candidates that compose the majority of stage time. Each one vies for one member of the families vote. In the end the family becomes split because each member chooses a different candidate. Eventually they decide on a candidate named Littlebear because he represents a certain value that each member holds dearly. The entire showing proved to be a farce on the current political state, including certain senators in airports, Bill Clinton think-a-likes, and Condoleeza Rice look-a-likes. It deals with the attitude that most voters have by the end of the caucus; no desire.

Caucus: the musical proved to be one of the most fascinating events of the trip. It allowed the entire group to breathe a sigh of relief. It provided long needed humor and relaxation. John Robert Ford did a splendid job with this production.

Caucus Night!

The Iowa Caucuses are a unique and important institution of American electoral politics. In my opinion, the caucus I observed was one of the most interesting and educational parts of the trip. I attended the Democrats' caucus in Ames 1-4, one of Iowa's more urban precincts. There appeared to be slightly more women than men, the ages seemed to range from around eighteen to 65, and the caucus was almost entirely White.
It began with the then-temporary caucus chair briefly explaining the process and reading a letter from the Iowa Democratic Party. This letter thanked people from their participation in the caucus and encouraged them to donate money to the Party. Afterwards, several large envelopes were passed around in order to collect donations.
After that, the temporary caucus chair and secretary were elected as the permanent caucus chair and secretary using a voice vote.
They counted the number of people present; the final count was 402.
Each campaign was given two minutes in order to try and persuade any undecided voters.
Then the first persuasion period began. Everyone had thirty minutes to persuade undecided voters and even people from other candidates to join their preference groups. The initial counts were as follows:
Obama – 147

Edwards – 86

Clinton – 64

Richardson – 63

Biden, Kucinich – 18

Dodd - 6

Since a preference group needed 60 members in order to become viable (and 31 members per delegate), the Biden, Kucinich, and Dodd supporters had to either realign themselves with another group or abstain from the process. We were sitting right behind the Kucinich supporters, and it was very interesting to watch them be courted by all three of the major candidates (Richardson not so much). Many of them ended up going with Obama, and the rest seemed to head off to Edwards. I didn't observe any going to join Clinton's group. One of the more interesting negotiations I observed was between Obama and Kucinich leaders. They made a deal that, if enough Kucinich supporters came over in order to give the Obama supporters another delegate, one of the Kucinich supporters could have that delegate spot. This happened, and one of the leaders of the Kucinich preference group eventually became a delegate for Sen. Obama.
After this second persuasion period, the counts and delegate allocations were as follows:

Obama – 164 (5)

Edwards- 101 (3)

Richardson – 70 (2)

Clinton – 66 (2)

Because the precinct had thirteen delegates to allocate, the Obama campaign got another delegate, bringing their final count to 6 delegates.
This precinct had no resolutions to pass.

Lights, Camera, Caucus

Friday, January 4, 2008

Today we traveled to De Moine and visited the Iowa State Historical Museum. We met a Manchester Alumni and his wife and discussed the Caucus. The Caucus exhibit was a very nice exhibit, however; I was beginning to become easily distracted and did not give the museum my full attention. After visiting the Historical Museum, we split up into different groups in which some of us went to the State Capital Building and others went shopping. After a long three hours of walking downtown De Moine and shopping we decided to go eat at a nice restraunt. It was a great meal and the ideal dinner to end our trip. With our stomachs full, we walked back to the Historical Museum to see "Caucus! The Musical". The musical was a about a family being divided by different candidates and in the end coming together to find the "ideal" candidate. "Caucus! The Musical" was packed full of humor and I was laughing almost the entire time. I believe this play was a much needed comic relief to the week we spent in Iowa. Many of us bought the official "Caucus! The Musical" t-shirts and Dr. Williams enjoyed the musical enough to buy the cast soundtrack. In all, this was a great week and I enjoyed every event that I went to. The only thing that I would change if I got a chance to redo my week in Iowa would be to try to watch more rallys for candidates. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Williams for setting up this great learning experience.

Professional fans--to Caucus Observers

The Democratic precinct caucus that I observed was located in an auditorium in the Ames City Hall. The turnout was expected to be around 200-250, and there were exactly 400 people there to caucus. Because there were 400 people, viability was 60 people, and each group was able to gain a delegate with every 31 people. As observers, we sat in the back row on the side of the auditorium, and by the end of the caucus, the room was full and there were caucus goers along with observers standing in the back of the room.
Even as people filed in, before they split up into their respectable groups, they talked amongst each other, welcoming each other and talking to the few children observing from the back of the room. The elementary school child who sat next to me was asked whom he wanted to win, and he said that he was there for Edwards, and when he was asked whom his mother was caucusing for he answered “Clinton.” That was very interesting that the children even care enough or know enough to have different views than their parents.
At first, one person per candidate was given one minute to speak on stage about their candidate. Most of the speeches were very informal and respectable, and surprisingly to me, after each speech every person in the room clapped for them. It was a very friendly caucus in regards to people’s reactions toward the people voting against them.
The best part of where we were sitting was that we were right behind the eighteen people there to caucus for Kucinich. From the very beginning, people were coming from the Clinton, Obama, Edwards, and Dodd groups to talk to them and make nice with them. The precinct captain from the Clinton group was only talking nicely to them, not talking politics at first, but the Edwards precinct captain automatically handed them pamphlets about John Edwards, trying to persuade them to come to their group. The lady from the Dodd group hung around until she was sure that there would only be eighteen people in the Kucinich group because there were only six people for Dodd, and the extra eighteen were not going to get Dodd anywhere. In the end, most of those people ended up with Edwards and Obama, and it only took one realignment after the first thirty minute time period.

thoughts on dem. caucus

January 4^th

The Democratic Party's Caucuses operated much differently than a normal election. The voting was much less like an election and much more like a vote in Congress where the votes are not cast secretly. All of the participants crowded into a big auditorium and either sat around the candidate who they planned on voting for or they walked around and tried to convince others to join their candidate. This went on for about a half an hour or so until the temporary Caucus chair called the Caucus to order. Much like a court room or a senate session. Once the chair had called the Caucus to order, he formally listed the instructions and procedures that the Caucus-goers would observe. He asked that everyone be civil about the process and spoke of the entire protocol that was given to him by the Iowa's Democratic party. After he had went through all of this, he asked the Caucus organizers to close the doors and count the number of participants. He had three people go up and down the isles several times and finally returned a count of exactly four hundred participants. He then had a helper determine the fifteen percent amount needed for a candidate to gain viability and the amount needed to divide the precinct's thirteen delegates among the viable candidates.

After he had counted and calculated the amount needed for viability, which happened to be sixty participants, he allotted a thirty minute period to the participants to move about and find their respective candidates. Nobody really left their seat and moved to another candidate really because almost everyone had decided to sit by their candidate initially. However, many of the parties' campaign leaders stood up and walked to other groups to try and encourage voting for leader's candidate. This measure was fairly unsuccessful in the first round because there were no undecided voters and all of the groups that the Caucus-goers might have thought to be inviable had not been eliminated yet. Mostly everyone sat in their seat aside for a few arguing or negotiating parties. I would have thought that groups like Dodd, Kucinich, and Biden that did not have enough for viability would negotiate with those groups who had large amounts of participants. The lower tier candidates might try to persuade the larger groups to give them extra people to keep them alive. However, this did not work very well seeing as how the larger groups had a huge advantage in negotiating. They would gain viability regardless while if the lower tiers did not offer great help to the larger groups, they would be deemed inviable and lose their candidate by the second round. I saw this happen several times where a group such as Kucinich or Dodd would make contact with Hillary or Obama and request that they give them the extra people over and above the amount needed for viability or extra delegates. As these dealing went on, they went from the lower tier candidates asking the larger ones for extra people, to larger candidates asking smaller ones to join them entirely. This did not happen in the first round because nobody wanted to entirely leave their candidate; however, by the time that the second round came and the lower tiers who had not reached viablitiy were undecided, things changed greatly.

After the thirty minutes given for the first round were over, the chair asked everyone to return to their candidate's group and sit down. He had the Caucus organizers count the participants in each group. Biden and Dodd were counted and weeded out immediately because they held only thirty some Iowans between them. Kucinich was busy talking to the Obama still but by the time they were counted they had failed to reach and agreement and were eliminated. One of the biggest surprises was the showing of Bill Richardson in our precinct. He managed to gain around seventy voters and was not far off from the amount that Hillary, the front-runner, had gained. The larger groups were counted and Barack Obama's group had a great deal more than the others with around one hundred and forty. John Edwards was in second with around eighty and Hillary and Richardson dangled around sixty voters. After the votes had been tallied and the smaller groups had been eliminated, the chair gave the Caucus a second to get itself re situated for the second round.

The second round was a bit different than the first seeing as the first had no undecided voters and relatively few negotiations and the second had a great deal of undecided voters coming from the groups that had been eliminated. The Biden and Dodd voters distributed themselves about the other four parties individually by their own affiliations. However, the Kucinich supporters were still trying to make a deal with the Obama supporters. When most of the participants had aligned themselves with their respected group, the chair attempted to call the second round to a close. However, the Kucinich and Obama camps were still discussing and made a movement to extend the time. Before the movement could be voted on or discussed, the Kucinich and Obama groups pull away from the movement saying that they had come to an agreement. The Obama group had agreed to allow the head of the Kucinich campaign to go as a delegate to the state convention as an Obama delegate if he and his group aligned with Obama. This deal was very interesting to me and it gave me an idea of the types of dealings that did take place at a Caucus.

At the end of the Caucus, the votes were tallied and then repeated back to the audience. Our precinct had an astounding number of votes for Obama and he captured six of the thirteen delegates. Edwards managed to gain three delegates for the state convention and Hillary and Richardson had two for each. The biggest surprise was the fact that Hillary placed fourth at our precinct. For a long time she was predicted to win it and was beaten by two first tier candidates and a second tier candidate.

The Caucus was a new experience. I had always seen it as just being like a primary or an election but it is nothing like either of those. There was fighting and discussions and dealings and negotiations. People who were very persuasive were able to convince others to change their votes or move for some mutually beneficial purpose. There was not the kind of excitement that I had heard about at other precincts but it was a lot more interesting than a regular election.

-ben Scalise

Bhutto assassination play role in Iowa

January 1st

The assassination of Pakistan's Prime Minister Benzir Bhutto is with out a doubt a terrible and tragic step away from democracy for Pakistan. The corruption and mis-dealings involved with the election and assassination are so severe and noticeable that Pakistan has pushed its political fiasco onto the world stage. While this event is no doubt unfortunate, almost all of the candidates have made attempts to use this assassination as a proving ground for their foreign policy abilities. While some have jumped on this almost immediately, others have bided their time to help both their own campaigns and the situation in Pakistan. Among these major candidates are Clinton, Obama, and Edwards.

Hillary Clinton was among the first to respond to the situation in Pakistan. She was asked if she believed that the Pakistani government and President Musharaff were capable or credible of conducting a fair investigation of the assassination. Hillary said that the only fair way of conducting this investigation was through an international tribunal, Interpol or the United Nation. She stated that she believed there was no credibility in the Pakistani government to conduct this investigation. She then said that she was reluctant to send the United States law enforcement to investigation because it might lack credibility for “other reasons.” Hillary did not do too much on the matter of the assassination. She made no real attempt to comfort the grieving Pakistanis or bring closure to the situation but she did a decent job of keeping herself away for an obviously touchy issue.

On the other end, Senator Barack Obama made a disastrously false step. His campaign used the assassination as an opportunity to attack his opponents. He claimed that the situation in Pakistan is out of control because of the United State's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Illinois Senator also noted that Hillary Clinton had voted for both of these wars and was therefor responsible. Obama did not get the effect he desired. Instead he was rewarded with hours of negative news coverage. This reaction to the assassination looked more like politicking than any sort of condolence or consolation to the Pakistani people. He didn't do anything to assist the nation or stabilize a nation that is dangerously close to chaos. If Obama was using this event as a test, he just failed.

John Edwards was the last of the Democrats to comment on the assassination. Edwards called for a internationally led investigation and a postponement of the Prime Minister election. Edwards also sat down with Pakistani government and member's of Bhutto's family to offer his and America's condolences on the tragedy.

While these three did not actually do anything to assist the Pakistanis, they used this assassination as an litmus test to one another's foreign policy. The candidates made this into an almost mock-crisis. They were able to act without having truly negative international consequences.

-Ben Scalise

Laughing at the Caucus

The first time I heard of Caucus! The Musical was on National Public Radio. I heard some of the music and lines and thought it sounded pretty funny. So after a day of walking around Des Moines, I was pretty excited to sit down and be entertained.  The musical was written by Robert John Ford and was a political satire. It was about four candidates; a black woman, an arrogant man, a gay man, and a priest. The Wise family was asked to be followed by a news station for the press. Each member of the family liked a different candidate. The candidates wanted the Wise family to unanimously pick them because they were getting so much press. There was another candidate at the end who the whole family choose at the end. I thought the production was going to be more than a community show since it had been previewed on NPR. I was a little disappointed with the singing and acting quality of some of the cast members but overall I thought it was really funny.

Thursday Finally Arrived

            On the first Thursday of 2008, Iowa held the first of many presidential caucuses.  The two precincts observed were 1-3 and 1-4. The precinct 1-3 was unlike anything I have ever been apart of. Arriving around six in the evening, our group headed into the long line that snaked through an Ames library. People with registration papers walked up and down the waiting line making sure everyone caucusing was a registered voter or would be by November. Once a person got to the sign-in tables our caucus chairman, Phyllis Peters, yelled out commands for what line people should divide into. The three lines were: Registered democrats, new registered voters, and observers/youth.

             The attendance for 1-3 was 273 Iowans plus observers and media. The rooms occupancy read in the one hundreds. They had between 80-100 chairs set up and then everyone else was standing shoulder to shoulder. Although there were some young people, most of the precinct was full of middle-aged and older folks. Campaign representatives were running around trying to talk to as many people as they could. They were giving out stickers trying to pry people to join their candidate’s side. 

At seven o’clock the caucus began. Phyllis Peters welcomed everyone and read two letters from a senator and the other from the Democrat Party headquarters. Next on the agenda was a vote for the caucus chairman for the next caucus. They voted by hand count. This process of counting was terrible in a small room with many people. So terrible the third nominated chairman pulled out just so they could start with the real deal. On the walls all around the room were the campaign signs for each of the democrat candidates. Once the total attendance was taken, the math was calculated to select 11 delegates out of the 1-3 precinct. Then 30 minutes were given for everyone to go to their candidate’s part of the room with the campaign sign.  After the count, came the persuading. The persuading was the most entertaining and interesting part of this whole experience. Obama overwhelmingly had the most with 117, followed by Edwards with 54, and Hillary Clinton with 52. Each group had to have 41 supporters to be viable. This left out Richardson, Kucinich, Biden, and Dodd. Now 20 more minutes were given out so those groups not viable could either join another candidate who was viable or join with each other to make another viable group. The latter is what Bill Richardson’s representatives were trying to make happen. These representatives were by far the most organized and were the best persuaders and although they had more supporters join, they never were able to get over the 41 needed. Hillary’s supporters began to get upset since they were in third place. I was able to hear one man come over to the non-viable side of the room and express his disbelief that they “would come out here and just waste your time by not picking a candidate.” Clinton’s campaign was so desperate, I witnessed them cheat on their count. While counting hands, a woman who was double counted admitted she had been counted once already. The captain responded he was in charge and was right. By the end of this time session, Obama had 130 supporter winning six delegates. Edwards got three delegates while Clinton received two. 

Overall in the Iowa caucus, Obama won with 38% of the delegates and Edwards and Clinton tied with 29%. The caucus process was so neat to witness. All of the shouting and persuading and running around were incredibly stimulating and entertaining to observe. I came away wishing Indiana had such an important caucus I could be apart of.

Caucus Report

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Going into the Precinct 1-4 Caucus tonight, I did not quite know what to expect. I understood the basics of how a caucus worked but actually seeing how it worked really explained the process. The event started with the Temporary Chair reading a letter from the Iowa Democratic Headquarters. The opening business with the Caucus was finding a Permanent Chair and a Permanent Secretary which the Temporary Chair and Secretary were just voted in as the Permanents.
From observing the Caucus, I learned a lot about the process. First of all, you really get to see how crucial it is to get to the viability and every last person you can to caucus for your campaign. The Caucus itself was run very smoothly. I gained the impression that the Permanent Chair has held the position before. He kept the audience in line as well as keeping everything in a very timely manner. Being Iowa, the Caucus was predominately white. The ages were not as one-sided; my best guess would be that the audience was about fifty-fifty but age was divided up by candidates. Barack Obama’s caucus-goers were mainly young adults but still had several older supporters. Hillary Clinton had mainly middle age supporters as well as Bill Richardson and John Edwards. Dennis Kucinich, although he only had eighteen supporters, had a very wide variety of supporters. We sat with the rest of the observers in the back-left section of the auditorium. We had a conversation with a man that was legal immigrant and was very curious about the Caucus. We explained as best we could and explained why he was not allowed to participate. We also sat behind a student from California who was helping with the Barack Obama Campaign. He had a laptop with the formula of viability which allowed us to keep up with all of the candidates and how many delegates they would receive.
I was very pleased with the results of the Caucus at Precinct 1-4 as well as the rest of the state of Iowa. After the first round of Caucusing, Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton, Governor Bill Richardson, and former Senator John Edwards were the only ones viable. At the end, Obama had 164 votes which gave him 6 delegates for the county convention; Edwards received 101 votes and 3 delegates. Richardson and Clinton finished with 2 delegates each. I was very surprised with Bill Richardson beating Hillary Clinton in our precinct although in the rest of Iowa Hillary came in a close third to John Edwards. I think Barack Obama winning the Precinct Caucus will definitely give him the momentum to carry on a very successful campaign.

initial thouhts

December 31

So we all think that we know how the Caucuses work, right? A bunch of Iowans get together and vote and the candidate who is most popular wins, it seems simple enough. There are debates and the usual campaigning and then there is an election. I held this idea of Iowa as just being a regular election. People vote, people count, someone wins. However, after a couple of days here I have had my perception of these Caucuses altered. The scope of their importance, the way in which the Caucuses are conducted, the amount of people attracted to the site etc.

I used to think of the Caucuses as outdated and fairly impractical. It never seemed to make sense why the United States would judge its presidential candidates on a state as isolated and non-diverse as Iowa. Why would a candidate drop-out after a poor finish at Iowa seeing how few delegates Iowa actually has? The thing is, the parties could chose just about any state to start the primary season. However, Iowa had moved its Caucus to the front and although it seems like it is a bad state to represent the views of America, it just doesn't seem practical to move it. The special thing about Iowa is its size and population. There are much less voters here than in a New York or a California so candidates meet with a much larger amount of people and are able to campaign to certain niches. They can campaign and talk to much more rural voters that would usually be forgotten in a much bigger state. While these people may not matter as much, they hold their share of electoral power. They allow the candidates to communicate with voters that are usually unappreciated.

The other important thing about Iowa that makes it such a bell-weather state is the fact that it is the first Caucus. Candidates pour huge amounts of time and resources into these Caucuses and the candidates use these as all or nothings to a certain extent. They gauge their performances here and decide whether or not to keep running for the candidacy. They put so much into these campaigns that they can calculate how they will poll while they are campaigning at their best. Iowa has been a fixture in both Democratic and Republican parties for more than thirty years now. Its importance as a state is over shadowed by its major role as the political litmus test for almost all of the candidates.

-Ben Scalise

Volunteering

January 2nd

Today I volunteered at the John Edwards campaign center. This was a little less interesting than some of the rallies we have been to but sometimes it helped to do some dirty work on a campaign to better understand how the campaigns function. The John Edwards people told us that we would be canvassing; unfortunately, I had no idea what canvassing was or what it involved. Jesse and I were given a bunch of fliers and handouts as well as a script and they sent us out into the nearly subzero temperature to go door-to-door and ask people if they were planning on caucusing for John Edwards. I wasn't quite sure what they expected us to gain out of this measure but we went out and did it anyway. I think I should re-emphasize how cold it was. We went down several streets and talked with undecided voters. Among the few that were home, a couple claimed that the would be supporting John Edwards. The others took their time explaining to us why they wouldn't support him as we stood on their doorstep. After doing this for a couple of hours we finally called it quits and went back to the campaign center and asked for a new task. They gave us a call sheet and had us call supporters for another several hours. I would have thought that this would have been better than freezing outside but I didn't really enjoy the calls much more. I had to drone off of my script to every answering machine and when I finally managed to talk to a person, I was either quickly confirming their support or listening to their reasons for non-support. I called a woman and asked her if she planned to caucus and if so, did she plan to caucus for Edwards. She turned around and explained her view for a good twenty minutes. She argued all of the points I tried to emphasize and said that she didn't support Edwards because he opposed nuclear power, something I new very little about. We argued and argued for a while then I handed the phone off to a supervisor who had to talk to the woman for another fifteen minutes before the woman finally admitted that she has been an Obama supporter from the start. This is how I spent almost six hours of my day yesterday. Talking and arguing with people who had already chosen the candidate that they wished to caucus for. I don't quite understand the importance of these campaign headquarters but I know that it must be fairly significant seeing how much candidates spend on setting up these headquarters in Iowa alone. I have been told a lot of different numbers on how much a single candidate will spend on a campaigning headquarters for a campaign. I'm guessing that I am just not a very persuasive guy when it comes to things like this. I'd much rather go to a rally and be persuaded.

-Ben Scalise

Bill Clinton for Hillary 08

January 3rd

Today we went to a Hillary Clinton rally to hear Bill Clinton speak. We thought that we could get the best seats there like we had done at every other rally this week but everyone there beat us to it. We waited for Bill to come out and I observed the types of people that looked to be supporting Hillary. They were much more presentable than the Edwards or Obama crowds. They weren't wearing suits or anything but the gave the appearance of a little more luxury. This was a generalized look of course, I have very little idea as to the social and economical make up of the Hillary Clinton supporters. When Bill finally came out to speak to us the crowd really went crazy. It was a lot different from the other candidates who all hold the possibility to be president seeing the former President of the United States. Bill began speaking as to his wifes policy and her campaign. Bill spoke of the issues concerning the current presidential administration. He told us what he believed was wrong and what he thought could be done to fix it. He talked about the massive budget deficit that had been created even after he had taken stringent measures to ensure that the budget was managed in his eight years in office. He said that this was a major problem because it kept other nations from seeing us as reliable spenders or loaners. He also talked about education system and the failures of the “No Child Left Behind” bill. He briefly explained how the system worked and why it was fundamentally wrong and then he shared his ideas on the way education should be in America. He supported teachers rights and better teacher training and pay. More government money given to the schools and less emphasis on standardized testing. He shared with the crowd several stories that he believed exemplified Hillary's ability and compassion. He spoke of the volunteer work that Hillary did while in law school. When she pursued negligent and abusive parents and helped bring aggressive legislation to shield children from such horrors. She helped bring around change in a time of uncertainty among lawmakers and judiciaries due to the edginess of this issue. Bill used this story to make Hillary look aggressive yet compassionate, a champion of the little guy. He told us how and why she took these cases and the strong moral character she showed by doing so. Bill lauded Hillary's ability to lead and to negotiate with other foreign leaders. He mentioned all of the issues that she undertook while serving as the First Lady of both Arkansas and the United States of America. He spoke of her involvement with issues as broad as nationwide health care and the outcomes that she encountered while undertaking this issue. He claimed that Hillary faced failure and defeat while dealing with this issue and that she showed her character as a leader by rebounding from these setbacks. I think that from seeing this rally I gain a little bit more trust in Hillary's leadership and problem solving abilities. I think that she is a very well qualified and proven leader that could help accomplish many different things for our country. However, Hillary's leadership has never been in question to me. I feel that with Hillary it is her character in general that I cannot trust. She has to many connections to special interests and is all to familiar with the inner workings of Washington. I don't really like the idea of electing someone like this because I believe that this Caucus has a very new and rare opportunity to alter the workings of the American political system. A candidate that choses not to accept any soft money, PAC's or other large corporate donations is much more beneficial in my eyes. They have a bit of genuineness that is not present in Hillary's campaign.

-Ben Scalise

John Edwards and Mrs. Edwards

January 2nd

Today I went to the John Edwards rally at the Memorial Union. Since I volunteered yesterday at the John Edwards campaign headquarters so I was able to use my charm and procure the best seat in the house which happened to be right next to the future First Lady herself, Mrs. Elizabeth Edwards. Mrs. Edwards has been a very inspirational figure in to my family and me over the past few years so it was a dream to be able to not only meet with her but actually hold a conversation with her. As soon as I noticed that the seat next to me was reserved for her I started to get anxious and jittery. When she came in and sat next to me I froze and didn't say anything for a few seconds, then I managed to profess my love for her like a middle-schooler with a crush. She acted flattered and gave me a hug. * blush * Throughout her husband's speech she kept whispering things to me and putting her hand on me. Now I'm not going to rush to any conclusions but I really think that there is some magic between us.

As for John's speech... John Edwards did a very good job addressing the questions and issues that he has surrounded his campaign with. I keep hearing people whine because he is giving a basically identical speech most of the time but he of all the candidates has one of the most reassuring and informative speeches. He spoke of the budget deficit and the problems it causes our nation. He gave different ways in which the budget could be managed. He also gave a major address concerning the medical insurance situation that the United States is faced with. This seemed to be very popular among the middle-class and working-class audience. He said that it was a complete embarrassment that so many go uninsured and untreated in the United States. Senator Edwards ideas on Medicare seemed a little radical and seemed to push some away until he properly explains the plans. After the speech someone said that they opposed his view on universal health care. They felt that he would implement a system of universal health care. However, in his speeches, John explains his ideas and they seem much more feasible. It is not really universal health care, it is just an employer-based health care system much like the one that has been used for years with more measures in place to push employers to supply it. I really liked the speech that John Edwards gave.

After the speech was given, John took questions. He went around and asked about ten people to give him questions. Most of the questions seemed strange and not to be very important issues but they were answered all the same. One of the things that I liked was when Mr. Edwards was asked about participating in debates featuring lesser known candidates, he just said “No,” he would not approve of it. Even though the question is not exactly a policy question, I liked the fact that he held a belief and stated it to the man instead of giving a vague wishy-washy answer.

-Ben Scalise

"The Nation's Fate is in a Corny State"

The Iowa Historical Museum’s exhibit of the Iowa Caucus was really fun and informative. Seeing all of the old campaign slogans and memorabilia was really cool. The play was even better. Caucus the Musical was a great representation of the caucus process and presidential campaigns with a little pun thrown in. This musical definitely lived up to its reviews. Mixed with satire and whimsy the play portrayed what most Iowans must feel like every four years when the candidates invade! The directors, writers and actors did a wonderful job with not a lot of time or money of producing a play that was entertaining. Seeing this play after observing the actual caucuses and the rallies for the candidates was a good way to end the trip. I recommend that anyone interested in the caucuses see this wonderful and fun depiction of the process.

Farewell Iowa

Although the trip went fast and it doesn’t feel like its over it is time to go, the candidates and press have all left and its time to let Iowans have their state back. This trip has been amazing!! I feel that I have learned a lot and have had a blast. There were so many fun and exciting parts of this trip that I cannot choose one specific one to be my favorite. It was great seeing all of the candidates and even an ex president. This was probably a once in lifetime opportunity to see these candidates and possibly be able to say that I shook the President of the United States’ hand.

There was so much that I learned on this trip. The whole caucus process now makes so much more sense than it did from just reading about it in text books. Although my candidate did not win, being able to experience this process was so fun and educational at the same time. Meeting the people that I met and not just the candidates, but the staffers and other volunteers was so fun. Learning from them and observing how they worked was such a great experience, I really learned a lot and know that I picked the right major.

Reflection on the Caucuses

Before leaving for Iowa I had written a post about my belief that Iowa really shouldn’t have as much importance as it does in the political process. While I still believe that the state is not quite representative enough of the US as a whole to be given so much weight my opinions have slightly changed.

I still think that the media corrupts the process on a national level, but I think that the average Iowan really makes a point of attending the events so that the overall winner in the state is first for a reason. The media may affect the opinions of Iowans, but many of those Iowans have taken the time to see at least their first choice candidate in person. While, at a national level many citizens don’t have the opportunity to do this and may base their decision primarily on what the media presents. The first place candidates in Iowa haven’t simply won because the media has chosen to paint them in the best light; they’ve won because the people of Iowa, who have taken time to participate in the political process, have selected them. In a country where it is difficult to get even half of the voting age population to the polls is it really that bad that Iowans, who seem to participate more, are not that representative of the US as a whole?

On many occasions I found myself impressed by the character of the people in Iowa. Overall they were friendly and politically competent. They certainly turned out in large numbers at the caucus I attended. That event was predicted to have around 200 voters, but ended up having slightly over 400 people in attendance. This election process has really motivated people to participate. The ideal type of voter, in my opinion, regardless of party affiliation, would be well informed and excited about the process. Iowa seemed to brimming with my “ideal type” of voter. In that aspect I think that Iowa is a fine place to start the nomination process.

I also really like the caucus process. Often, people vote for the candidate that they think has the best ability to win overall, or the “lesser of two evils” candidate. However, I think the caucus process allows people to, at least initially, vote with their conscience and see if they can gain viability. If they cannot, then they have a second opportunity to choose a candidate that has or could gain viability. The process is exciting and it made me wish Indiana had a similar process (and was a little earlier in the game).

After a great week in Iowa my opinions about the caucus have definitely changed. I like the process a little more and after seeing the level of participation and knowledge of Iowan citizens I trust their overall judgment. But, maybe that’s just because my candidate ended up winning there. J

BYAHHH!

Today, the glory of the Iowa Caucus has ended. Governor Mike Huckabee and Senator Barack Obama were the nominees for the Republican and Democratic Party respectively. Will this hold true for the rest of the nation? It's tough to gauge. Ronald Reagen did not win Iowa when he ran, so who really knows. This year in particular, several Republican candidates chose to focus their attention elsewhere; mainly John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. So how monumental is Mike Huckabee's win considering that two "big" candidates drew their attention elsewhere? Only time will really tell. The one thing that Governor Huckabee can take from this caucus is that he defeated Mitt Romney who outspent him 20-1!
The focus of the day today was to see the history of the caucus at the museum in Des Moines as well as see Caucus; the musical. The caucus exhibit was very interesting, although we had seen the exhibit first hand for the past week. I did enjoy seeing the old souvenirs from past election, seeing Dan Qualye signs, as well as Walter Mondale signs. The best part of the day was Caucus the musical; which was a political satire. I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy this musical at the beginning, but I absolutely loved it. The musical covered every facet of politics and poked fun at several politicians that we have become so accustomed to! The best part of the play was the imitation of the infamous Howard Dean scream: BYAHHH! I enjoyed the musical, and it was especially funny since we had seen the very actions that the candidates took over the past week. I enjoyed the musical and laughed througout; nice choice Dr. Williams, BYAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Senator Thompson is Frankenberry and the Actual Caucus

We left early today again, as this has been a common theme in the presidential campaigns so far. We headed to West Des Moines this time, which was about an hour away. We planned on seeing a Thompson event in the morning at 9:00 am and a Romney event at noon. We arrived at the Fred Thompson event early enough to get front row seats and sat next to arguably the most talkative, social person I have met in my entire life. He was elderly and a retired doctor, having working for the University of Iowa as a physician for the basketball team as well as being a general surgeon. He wanted to discuss anything we were willing to talk about: life, politics, Manchester College, Iowa, Iowans, environment, health care, careers, so forth and so on. He gave me life lessons, and words to live by. I must say the Thompson event was not very exciting. There were probably 50-100 people at the event, mostly middle aged and entirely white. The event began with a Republican congressman Steven King come out and talk about why he supports Fred Thompson. All in all, his speech was far better than the pseudo speech delivered by Senator Thompson. Senator Thompson came out with a chant of “Fred, Fred, Fred, Fred, Fred, Fred….” and did a bizarre fist pump during this time. I would like to tell you the issues that Senator Thompson covered, but he really did not elaborate on any subject. He did say that you can know where he stands and “Where I stand on an issue does not depend on where I am standing,” which I thought was a powerful quote, which was really all we got from Senator Thompson. I don’t want to say that it looks as if he has given up, but it sure felt like it at the speech. He spoke for probably 20 minutes or so and then stormed off the stage and into the kitchen of the room without saying a word to anyone, without taking the time to meet the Iowans and definitely did not stop for any pictures. I was not impressed at all with Senator Thompson and thought that Representative Steven King presented his views much better. In fact, the only thing that I really can remember is the resemblance Senator Thompson has to Frankenberry, from the children’s cereal. I am not going to take credit for drawing this correlation, I heard it from Andrew Doub, and I realized how close they truly look alike. Look at the picture, you can judge for yourself.
I never got to see Mitt Romney speak, as he closed the event from the public and it was only a private event. Why a private event the day of the caucus?
The big event had come, the entire reason we were there, the Iowa Caucus. Relating more to the Republican Party, I decided to go to the Republican caucus, which was less eventful then the Democrat’s process. I wish I could have seen the Democrats, because the Republican caucus was largely uneventful. Each candidate had a volunteer from the crowd speak on their behalf for no more than 2 minutes. The ballots were passed out to the 500+ people packed inside a small Lutheran Church and the voters placed the names of the candidate of their choice. The ballots were secret; meaning no one else knew who a voter chose. The votes were counted, the winner was announced to be Mike Huckabee, and most of the people left. I was looking forward to a more eventful caucus, but the candidate of my choice one at this particular precinct and ended up winning Iowa. Lets take the momentum into New Hampshire Governor Huckabee!

Get Off Your... err.. Butt and Vote!

The caucuses are over. The Democrats rounded out with Obama first, Edwards second, Clinton third, and Richardson fourth. Huckabee, Romney, Thompson, and McCain took the top four spots for the Republicans. I am happy that Obama came out on top, but it will be interesting to see if he can use the boomerang effect to win New Hampshire. I have a feeling it will be very close between Clinton and Obama. John McCain has been campaigning quite a lot in New Hampshire; he might be a force to reckon with for Huckabee and Romney.
Today, we met up with some Manchester College alumni to visit a museum about the history of the caucuses. There were several cutouts of all the different members of campaign staffs and members of the media. There are nearly hundreds of people who contribute to just one candidate’s success or failure. It was apparent Iowa takes pride in being one of the first indicators of who the next leader of the free world may be.
Later into the night we went to see Caucus: the Musical play written by John Robert Ford. I was a little skeptical on the possible enjoyment level, but I was wrong. It was HISTERICAL! It took place in a small town where four presidential candidates were targeting for votes. The song “Anything For A Vote” really hit the show off with a bang by explaining how the candidates were willing to do anything to get someone’s vote; even as much as to walk the family dog, pick up groceries, and trim a waitress’ bushes. This political satire simplified the whole caucusing procedure through one family’s struggle to pick their own candidate to support. Conflicting interest occurred and they family found themselves in shambles. But, to the rescue comes a quiet, reserved candidate that brings them back together. Overall, this show was a perfect event to cap off an incredible week in Iowa.