Iowa Caucus

[UCBooties]

It's started.

I'm listening to a CNN feed of a democratic caucus, anyone know a better way to keep track?

[Flagg]

Yes, it's called the Internet

Iowans flock to presidential caucuses
Early data show Clinton, Obama leading Dems, Huckabee, Romney for GOP

DEVELOPING STORY
MSNBC staff and news service reports
updated 4 minutes ago
DES MOINES, Iowa - Democrats Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards fought for first Thursday in Iowa's presidential caucuses, a multimillion-dollar exercise in grass-roots democracy and the initial, critical test in the campaign for the party's 2008 nomination. Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee vied for the Republican victory.

Iowans were summoned to evening caucuses at 1,781 precincts from Adel to Zingle, in schools, firehouses and community centers where the candidates themselves could not follow. At one Democratic caucus site, Westridge Elementary School in west Des Moines, there was heavy turnout, with 267 people registering. In 2004, only 86 Iowans participated there.

Early entrance poll results from NBC News showed Huckabee and Romney fighting for first place among Republicans. On the Democratic side, the early entrance poll results show Clinton and Obama with the most initial support.

In preliminary results from Associated Press interviews of voters entering their caucuses, about half the Democrats said their candidate's ability to bring about needed change was the most important factor in making their decision.

Among Republicans, the largest group of voters said the most important quality in picking a candidate was one who shared their values. Somewhat fewer said they wanted a candidate who says what he believes, while fewer still were looking for experience and a chance to win in November.

Having their final say
Before the caucuses began, the contestants had their final say. ( Watch MSNBC TV's live coverage of the caucuses by clicking on this link.)

Huckabee told a crowd in Burlington, "It's about believing in a cause," a summation that rivals in both parties could easily embrace. Likewise Edwards' plea to his backers in Iowa City: "This thing could be really close. ... We need you to make calls, talk to your friends." And Obama in Des Moines, when asked how he was feeling: "I feel great, although my throat ...."

Win or lose, there was little time for rest. New Hampshire's first-in-the nation primary is set for Tuesday, and the campaign quickly accelerates into a rush of contests culminating in more than two dozen on Feb. 5.

With President Bush constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, both parties had wide-open, costly campaigns.

Obama, Clinton, Edwards battle
Obama, a first-term Illinois senator, stressed a need for change as he campaigned to become the first black president in history.

Clinton, a New York senator, boasted of her experience as she worked to follow her husband into the White House and become the first woman to occupy the Oval Office.

Edwards, his party's 2004 vice presidential candidate, cast himself as the implacable enemy of special interests as he aimed to improve on last time's second-place showing in the state.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Joe Biden of Delaware and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio also contested the state on the Democratic side.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, stressed his background as a businessman and organizer of the 2002 Olympics, and he worked to persuade conservatives to ignore his earlier positions on abortion and gay rights. He ran commercials hitting Huckabee for his positions on immigration and the pardons he issued while governor of Arkansas.

On Thursday, Romney didn't back down when a financial firm employee asked if the country could expect more critical TV ads from him in the general election if he wins the GOP presidential nomination.

"Absolutely. You can bet that what we're going to talk about is differences on issues," he told several hundred employees of the Principal Financial Group in Des Moines.

But he added, "I’m not going to attack the character of the other people I’m running against.”

Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, pinned his hopes on evangelical conservatives who accounted for 40 percent of caucus-goers or more. He told reporters Monday that he had decided not to air commercials criticizing Romney in return. But Newsweek reported that the ad had run on at least three Iowa television stations that day. Newsweek said a representative of Huckabee's campaign was surprised to hear the ads had aired.

In an unusual expression of faith at a political party headquarters, Huckabee supporters stood Thursday evening in circles, holding hands and offering prayers in the middle of the ballroom.

The candidate was expected to fly in later in the evening after speaking at Waterloo, Iowa.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson were also on the ballot, although their aides made no claim they were in the running for a first-place finish. So, too, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who largely abandoned the state in the campaign's final days.

Iowa sends 45 delegates to the Democratic National Convention next summer in Denver and 37 to the GOP gathering in St. Paul, Minn. But that was hardly the reason the crowded field of presidential hopefuls devoted weeks of campaigning, built muscular campaign organizations and spent millions of dollars on television advertising in the state.

For three decades, Iowa's caucuses have drawn presidential hopefuls eager to make a strong first impression, and this year was no different.

Obama, Clinton and Edwards spent about $21 million on television advertising among them, and all three capped their campaigns with statewide broadcasts on Wednesday. Romney told supporters in a final daylong swing around the state he had been in 68 of 99 counties since he began his quest for the White House, had spent 55 days in Iowa and spoken before 248 separate audiences.

Still, only about 120,000 to 150,000 people were expected to vote in the Democratic caucuses, while 80,000 to 90,000 were likely to participate in the GOP contest.

Giuliani largely bypassed Iowa and trails McCain and Romney in New Hampshire polls. The former New York mayor is focusing now on Florida's Jan. 29 primary, and planned to attend a rally in a Cuban-American suburb of Miami on Thursday night. He has seen his national lead in polls wither in the early going.

In Bedford, N.H., Giuliani said Thursday he had no regrets about treading lightly in Iowa and New Hampshire and holding his fire for states offering big numbers of delegates. It's an unconventional and risky approach in an exercise that counts early momentum as crucial.

"We've never had 29 primary and caucuses in one month," he told reporters at a stop at Segway Inc. "Something different is going to win this election. We hope it's our different strategy that wins it."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[UCBooties]

Ah, of course, the internet! Which couldn't possibly be how I'm listening to a live feed of a caucus could it?

[Darth Wong]

In an unusual expression of faith at a political party headquarters, Huckabee supporters stood Thursday evening in circles, holding hands and offering prayers in the middle of the ballroom.

That's "unusual" for Republicans? In what alternate universe?

[CaptainChewbacca]

In an unusual expression of faith at a political party headquarters, Huckabee supporters stood Thursday evening in circles, holding hands and offering prayers in the middle of the ballroom.

That's "unusual" for Republicans? In what alternate universe?

We don't usually hold hands.

*rimshot*

[phongn]

MSNBC is calling Huckabee for the GOP. The DNC race is still in a tight race between Obama, Edwards and Clinton.

[CaptainChewbacca]

MSNBC is calling Huckabee for the GOP. The DNC race is still in a tight race between Obama, Edwards and Clinton.

Obama's got a bit of a lead, Hillary is polling behind him and Edwards.

[phongn]

MSNBC is now calling Obama for the DNC.

[Patrick Degan]

Last report I had showed Obama at 35% and Edwards and Clinton at 31% apiece with 71% of precincts reporting. It will be interesting to see just how Hillary adapts to the challenge of Barak Obama in the coming weeks.

[The Original Nex]

Now at Obama 37%, Clinton and Edwards tied for 2nd at 30%. No one else has come close to getting out of single digits, and given that the top three are eating all the percentage points, that's not likely to change.

[SirNitram]

At something like ~1,600 out of ~1,700 reporting in, it's Obama, Edwards, Clinton.

[Mr Bean]

Do we actual numbers anywhere? I'm intrested in how Ron Paul did, considering none of the news outlets will talk about him.

[Falkenhayn]

97% of Precints are in.

Obama: 38%
Edwards: 30%
Clinton: 29%

[Qwerty 42]

Obama Wins Democratic Contest in Iowa
Thursday, January 3, 2008 9:32 PM EST
The Associated Press


DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Barack Obama, bidding to become the first black president, won the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, the opening test in the race for the 2008 Democratic nomination.

I'd love to URL but it's sign-up only.

[The Original Nex]

Mr Bean:

Here are the full results:

Democrats:

Barack Obama - 38%
John Edwards - 30%
Hillary Clinton - 29%
Bill Richardson - 2%
Joe Biden - 1%
Chris Dodd - 0%
Dennis Kucinich - 0%
Mike Gravel - 0%
Undecided - 0%

Republicans

Mike Huckabee - 34%
Mitt Romney - 25%
Fred Thompson - 13%
John McCain - 13%
Ron Paul - 10%
Rudy Giuliani - 3%
Duncan Hunter - 0%

[Natorgator]

Do we actual numbers anywhere? I'm intrested in how Ron Paul did, considering none of the news outlets will talk about him.

He did decent; he got 10% of the vote.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primar ... /state/#IA

[The Original Nex]

Ghetto Edit:

This info is with 97% of Democratic delegates counted, and 86% of Republican votes counted.

[Stark]

Oh man, President Huckabee is going to make the US a sad country.

[Darth Wong]

Every white-bread cowboy redneck asshole in the country was already leaning toward Hillbilly anyway, because he's just like Bush. Now that a black man is looking like the early favourite for the Democrats, they will run to vote for Hillbilly.

[Noble Ire]

Oh man, President Huckabee is going to make the US a sad country.

Then again, so will Romney or most any of the other major Republican candidates. I find the prospect of someone like Huckabee in the White House terrifying, but also I find Romney's two-faced, cowardly ignorance absolutely repellent; I can't help but revel in his fall.

[brianeyci]

Obama's victory speech was incredible. Every time I hear the man talk, it's inspiring. And he was doing it with a fucking cold; what the hell is this man like when he's not sick?

"We are not a collection of red states or blue states. We are the United States of America."

I'm still sucking in the fact that a black man won in the whitest state of the USA. It makes me feel that maybe there is hope. We will see in five days.

[Stark]

Every white-bread cowboy redneck asshole in the country was already leaning toward Hillbilly anyway, because he's just like Bush. Now that a black man is looking like the early favourite for the Democrats, they will run to vote for Hillbilly.

That was my feeling also. Being a black man seems like much more of a problem than a bonus, and when the alternative is Huckabee... well.

Brian, I've never heard Obama speak (coverage in AU is limited to 'zomg darkie said a mean thing' some time ago). Don't tell me someone actually has competent speechwriters and can speak without his nose in a teleprompter?

[Darth Wong]

Oh man, President Huckabee is going to make the US a sad country.

Then again, so will Romney or most any of the other major Republican candidates. I find the prospect of someone like Huckabee in the White House terrifying, but also I find Romney's two-faced, cowardly ignorance absolutely repellent; I can't help but revel in his fall.

When Bhutto was killed, Huckabee went to the press and said that America needs to clamp down on immigration from Pakistan. His aides said that this was the only statement he could make until he was "up to speed" on Pakistan (translation: he didn't even know how to find Pakistan on a map, or who Bhutto was, so he needed to be briefed before he could say anything other than "stop the immigrants").

[Flagg]

Ah, of course, the internet! Which couldn't possibly be how I'm listening to a live feed of a caucus could it?

Your live feed, with no link, doesn't do anyone else a goddamned bit of good. So before you get all snarky, make sure you're not a fucking idiot, you fucking idiot.

[Flagg]

I'm not worried about a Huckabee presidency because it's just not going to happen. If the guy get's the nomination, Bloomberg will probably run as a moderate conservative option that the non-fundies in the tattered remains of the Rethuglican party will run to.