Iowa Caucuses Roundup

Many candidates enjoyed the warmer-than-average Fall weather in Iowa last week, including Republican former Sen. Fred Thompson, who completed his second swing through Iowa as a presidential candidate.  After eliciting a critical response from the press at an Iowa Christian Alliance dinner a week ago Saturday, Thompson committed at least two more missteps while in the state: he incorrectly identified Russia as the Soviet Union in an interview, and he resorted to requesting applause from an unenthusiastic central Iowa crowd during a stump speech event.

In other Republican news, the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay Republican organization, announced a new TV ad intended to reduce Gov. Mitt Romney’s standing among social conservatives in Iowa, highlighting statements Romney made when he was running for office in Massachusetts.  The Log Cabin Republicans are thought to be supporting Rudy Giuliani for their party’s nomination, although they have said they will not issue a formal endorsement.

The Des Moines Register’s definitive Iowa Poll released Sunday showed Romney maintaining his lead here, beating Thompson for first place by 11 points.  Notably, third-place Gov. Mike Huckabee is ahead of Giuliani by a point.  Sen. John McCain placed fifth with 7%, while Rep. Ron Paul’s has 4% support, beating Sen. Sam Brownback’s surprisingly low 2%.

On the Democratic side, almost every presidential candidate in the field spent time here last week.  Sen. Barack Obama celebrated the anniversary of his 2002 speech against the Iraq war with speeches highlighting his foreign policy judgment.  To the surprise of many, his speeches focused on the issue of nuclear nonproliferation rather than Iraq, which he had already spoken about on a tour last month.  Obama also made national news during an Iowa interview on why he does not wear an American Flag pin.

Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Biden spent the week in Iowa highlighting his education plan, which calls for a 16-year public education system.  Sen. Chris Dodd made campaign stops across the state under the headline “Results Matter,” touting his legislative record and signing copies of his new book.  And Sen. John Edwards launched a 4-day “Take a Stand” tour, which will land him in 17 counties across the state by Monday evening.  During the trip, Edwards highlighted the need to reduce or eliminate the role of private contractors like Blackwater in Iraq.

Saturday, after Obama had left the state, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Gov. Bill Richardson, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich joined the rest of the Democratic field for the Johnson County Democrats’ annual barbecue.  Richardson had held “Presidential Job Interview” events earlier Saturday.  Clinton’s appearance at the barbecue marked the beginning of a four-day stump speech swing through the state.

Clinton’s tour comes on the heels of news that she leads her Democratic opponents here by 6 points.  The Des Moines Register measured her support at 29%, followed by Edwards at 23% and Obama at 22%.  Richardson, whose support had risen into double digits over the summer, is at 8%, Biden is at 5%, and Dodd and Kucinich are at 1%.  (The margin of error is about five points.)