Thomas Schaller

Though Though Mike Huckabee is the surprise candidate of the 2008 Republican presidential contest, John McCain is the real wild card. Hoping to use Huckabee as the tip of his spear, McCain came to Des Moines last night for one last stab in Mitt Romney’s back. At an evening press conference in his Urbandale (suburban […]

So I may be one of the earliest-rising media folks here in Iowa, waking at 4:40 EST to do some interviews with CBC Radio in Canada. And this is the cover photo that greeted me from today’s Des Moines Register. The banner headline read, simply, Now, You Decide. The lead story by the Register’s Thomas […]

Following up on the post below, the Following up on the post below, the John Edwards campaign brags that its guy has been to all 99 counties—twice, in fact: once this cycle and also in 2004. Apparently, Hillary Clinton has only been in about 60 counties. A Barack Obama staffers says their guy has visited […]

The late whispers are that The late whispers are that Barack Obama’s campaign may benefit from either an announced or unspoken nod from the Joe Biden and/or Bill Richardson campaigns to have their non-threshold caucus-goers move to Obama. We already know that the Dennis Kucinich camp has instructed its supporters to do so. Perhaps this […]

I ran into former Republican National Committee chairman I ran into former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman today at the Des Moines Marriott. (Believe it or not, he’s here promoting Strong American Schools, a non-partisan education non-profit sponsored by the Gates Foundation, among others.) I asked him what his gut sense of tomorrow’s Republican […]

So, I spent some time today bouncing around to campaign headquarters with the stated purpose of finding out where the campaigns were recommending reporters go tomorrow night to watch a good example of their candidate’s caucus operation in action. Understandably, helping media find a good caucus site is not a high priority for any of […]

Snapped a photo of this campaign t-shirt worn by a John Edwards supporter to a speech the former North Carolina senator gave yesterday on campus at Iowa State University in Ames. Good stuff. –Tom Schaller

Attended one of several Attended one of several Mitt Romney bowl day house parties he scheduled today in the homes of suburban Des Moines supporters. The event was held in the nicely furnished basement of the Pleasant Hill (east Des Moines) golf community home of Peggy Richardson. With the USC-Illinois Rose Bowl matchup just kicking […]

I also caught I also caught John Edwards’ speech on the Iowa State campus, and it was his standard, populist stuff. But since he and his wife, Elizabeth, and campaign manager David Bonior were all there, and Edwards did a quick press avail afterwards, I figured I would ask all three what, exactly, the Edwards’ […]

I know I’m supposed to be following the Republicans, but there were two events so close together in Ames this morning, one with I know I’m supposed to be following the Republicans, but there were two events so close together in Ames this morning, one with Hillary Clinton and the other with John Edwards, I […]