Truman's Conscience

Iowa On My Mind

With 178 days left before the Iowa Caucus on January 14th, 2008 it looks like the Hawkeye State is starting to heat up with campaign activity in the past 48 hours.

Gov. Bill Richardson is predicted to win the Iowa Caucus according to the latest USA Elections Polls. This along with the news that Gov. Richardson's second quarter fund raising might be suggesting a tier position swap with former Sen. John Edwards. I'll have to wait and see on that one because the Edwards campaign did in fact meet it's target for the 2nd quarter. Gov. Richardson is also getting attention from the Des Moines Register for his call on Thursday in Des Moines to increase legal immigration: "I think we also need to raise the legal immigration numbers for those workers that we need." So it looks like the Richardson campaign is trying to make a move in Iowa now by boosting his presence there.

There is no doubt Sen. Clinton is putting major resources in Iowa with a few recent moves in the past 48 hours. The Hill's Congress Blog is reporting that her campaign is set to mail a DVD out to Iowa's registered Democrats detailing her stand on Iraq fresh off the news of her endorsement of former Ambassador Joe Wilson. The former Ambassador is included in the DVD as they discuss her views on the war. This move comes fresh of the heels of news her campaign is helping former Gov. Vilsack retire his failed Presidential campaign debts which only furthers speculation on Vilsack's potential as a runing mate.

I'm somewhat taken with the fact that Sen. Barack Obama doesn't seemed to be mentioned very much with what's at stake with him regarding Iowa. As a neighboring state with Illinois Iowa plays a double edged sword for his campaign. USA Today had an interview with him on Wednesday where he was asked whether or not Iowa could be called 'southern Illinois." This is the first mention I've seen linking how important Iowa will be to Sen. Obama.

Polling data still supports former Sen. Edwards' strength there and he is still the one to beat. One hundred and seventy-eight days is still a long way off and a lot can happen. There is no doubt the Edwards campaign is banking on an Iowa win. He needs it to stay with the Clinton campaign and Obama needs it to just stay in the race.