The precinct caucus chair, Elaine, a school teacher, is reading aloud a letter from the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party. Everyone applauses the line, “This evening we take the first step in electing a Democratic president of the United States.” But now she’s droning on about the new caucus reporting system and the Democratic […]
Dana Goldstein
Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.
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AT THE CAUCUS.
I’m here observing the caucus of Des Moines precinct 23, which covers the same neighborhood I I’m here observing the caucus of Des Moines precinct 23, which covers the same neighborhood I reported on when I went door to door with Edwards canvassers. The doors will close in about 8 minutes, and so far, it […]
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YOUNG RON PAUL SUPPORTERS ALSO LIKE OBAMA, HILLARY.
Ron Paul was declared winner this morning of the Republican MySpace primary, beating Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee, 37 to 18 to 16 percent. I just heard him speak on health care at Des Moines University, a medical school. I won’t recount the details of the speech, but suffice to say, Ron Paul believes eliminating […]
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The Appeal of Joe Biden
Joe Biden’s supporters are adamant that this election is about foreign policy and are wild about the senator’s experience on the world stage.
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HUCK ON JAY.
From my hotel lobby in Altoona, Iowa, I just watched From my hotel lobby in Altoona, Iowa, I just watched Mike Huckabee appear on the Jay Leno Show, for which he crossed a Writer’s Guild picket line. Huckabee was light and funny and charming. And nutty. He talked up his crazy consumption tax plan — […]
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CLINTON ONLY.
It’s been It’s been remarked upon before that Hillary Clinton‘s speeches are energetic, smooth, and detailed performances. Here in Ottumwa, in front of an all-ages crowd of almost 1,000 people, Clinton has spent a significant amount of time talking about domestic policies that her front-running rivals aren’t mentioning in their stump speeches, or don’t speak […]
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THOUGHTS WHILE WAITING FOR HILLARY.
I just drove two hours southeast of Des Moines to see I just drove two hours southeast of Des Moines to see Hillary Clinton for the first time on this trip, and later, I’ll be following her back to Des Moines for a downtown rally. The caucuses begin in exactly 24 hours, and I’m in […]
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ENDORSEMENTS FROM THE LEFT.
Today, Today, Ralph Nader endorsed John Edwards, and Dennis Kucinich told his Iowa supporters to choose Barack Obama as their second choice at the caucuses. In 2004, Kucinich threw his supports to Edwards. That year, Kucinich was the only truly antiwar candidate in the race. But this time around, he has a longtime ally on […]
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Iowans Debate the Merits of Edwards’ Populism
Will the Iowa caucuses be a referendum on John Edwards’ populist rhetoric? Or, if he manages to emerge the winner, can we chalk it up to his high name recognition and perceived electability?
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OBAMA: “TIME FOR LESS IDEOLOGY, MORE PRACTICALITY.”
I’ve been following I’ve been following John Edwards for an upcoming web piece, but tonight I’m at the hottest show in Des Moines, Barack Obama‘s rally at a South Side middle school. Compared to an Edwards crowd, the folks here are much younger, including high school and college students and plenty of young families. There’s […]
