After the Johnson County Democrats’ Barbecue a week ago, which attracted 2,000 people and almost all of the Democratic candidates for president, many spent time stumping around the state last week.

Sen. Chris Dodd signed books and stumped after announcing that he was moving a large portion of his staff here.  Gov. Bill Richardson campaigned around Iowa, emphasizing his pro-gun record in rural areas (and wearing an American flag lapel pin).  Sen. Hillary Clinton rode her new bus, “The Middle Class Express,” across the state.  Sen. Barack Obama continued his criticism of Clinton’s Iran vote in a series of speeches here, which received mixed reviews in terms of style.  Former Sen. John Edwards highlighted his opposition to the Iraq War on his “Take a Stand” tour.  And Sen. Joe Biden held an event with Republican candidate and Sen. Sam Brownback to highlight their Iraq plan at the end of the week.

On Tuesday, most in the Democratic field announced that they would take steps to remove themselves from the Michigan primary ballot because Michigan’s primary date violates the Democratic National Committee’s rules.  Most notably, Clinton did not, opting to stay on the ballot.  Rep. Dennis Kucinich attempted to remove himself but was unsuccessful.  Sources told Iowa Independent that the move was an attempt by other campaigns to damage Clinton’s standing in early states like Iowa.

Obama’s and Edwards’ criticism of Clinton intensified.  At the end of the week, Biden and Richardson squared off in an aggressive series of dueling press releases attacking each other’s plans for Iraq.  There were also many state legislative endorsement announcements from several campaigns.  And it was revealed that Edwards would receive an endorsement from the SEIU’s Iowa Local on Monday.  As the weather cooled down, the Democratic campaign heated up.

On the Republican side, Sen. Sam Brownback, who made a joint appearance with Biden to tout their plans for Iraq, said that he must win fourth place in Iowa if he is to stay in the race.  Gov. Mitt Romney launched a new TV ad attacking jihad, although he has only spent three of the past 60 days in the state.  Sen. John McCain rode the Straight Talk Express across the state.  And Rudy Giuliani received the support of former candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson.

Republican Party State Co-Chair Leon Mosley confirmed speculation that the GOP supports a Jan. 3 caucus date.  Influential columnist David Yepsen seemed to support splitting caucus dates for the two parties, although others disagreed.  At this point, conventional wisdom is that the caucuses will be either Jan. 3 or Jan. 5, but the issue is far from settled.