Had a chance to corner, first, Had a chance to corner, first, Gov. Bill Richardson, and then Sen. Joe Biden, at the Polk County Convention Center, which is ground zero tonight for the caucus results porting. I asked them both about how they felt their campaigns had finished, but also about any deal-making between the campaigns and what they thought might happen among the three top-tier candidates. Richardson, on him making deals, his goal for tonight, and the finish among the Top Three:
- “There's no deal. This is typical last-minute rumors. Iowans will make up their own minds. My supporters are going out to support me.”
- “I'm aiming for final four, which is a good showing. A lot of the undecided are I think breaking our way. We've got momentum. I'm feeling good. We've got a good organization and I think we will be viable in most precincts.”
- “I don't know. Any of the top three in the polls, we detect strength for them, but we detect strength for us, too.”
Biden’s answers to same three questions:
- “There are deals being cut, but not by me, I promise you that. I've been asked by more than one campaign…more than one of the top three, yes. There was no way with these things when it was raised with me by my staff because they got calls, I said “Look, go back and tell them I can't guarantee them anything.”
- On his chances he said that his internal polling shows him the second choice of 40 percent of Obama's and Clinton's people, and 35 percent of Edwards' people. Like Richardson, Biden thinks he will finish fourth and advance to New Hampshire. “If I come in fourth, you're gonna have to write Biden exceeded expectations, he gets a ticket to New Hampshire. That's what you're gonna write. And you're gonna start covering me--you bastards haven't covered me, but you're gonna start covering me.”
- And he says that “he wouldn't trade places with any one of [the Big Three] in terms of the expectations game, especially for the one that finishes third.
--Tom Schaller
