In an article that focuses on whether he should make a run for governor of New York, Giuliani, who finished a distant sixth in the January 2008 caucuses, told the magazine it was his advisers that developed the campaign strategy of skipping Iowa to focus on later, larger primaries.

And then there was his cockamamy campaign strategy, in which he sat out the Iowa caucuses, skipping a contest that riveted the world for a month, and competed halfheartedly in New Hampshire and South Carolina. By the time he made his infamous last stand in Florida, hoping that weeks of appearances at NASCAR tracks and Little Havana parades could make up for the ground he’d lost, it was too late.

Today, Rudy Inc. offers myriad excuses for the debacle. Giuliani says fundraising in the crowded field was harder than he expected: “I wish I had figured out that we weren’t going to raise $100 million.” Giuliani also wishes he hadn’t skipped Iowa, a decision he attributes to advisers. “My instincts originally were, if you lose, you gotta go down fighting. You can’t allow yourself to lose a primary. I think I should’ve fought Iowa harder. That was the beginning of becoming irrelevant.”

After Iowa, Giuliani went on to finish fourth in the New Hampshire primary and third in the Florida primary before bowing out and endorsing eventual Republican nominee John McCain.

Giuliani’s message could be a lesson for presidential aspirants in 2012, as pundits from around the nation have begun questioning the wisdom of competing in Iowa.

A lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on Friday, says three Green Party members tried to gather signatures last July 25 and 26 at the Street Fest so Cynthia McKinney could be on the Iowa presidential ballot.

Representatives of DavenportOne, which manages the street festival, prevented the three from gathering signatures, even calling the police to stop them, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says a similar suit was filed in 1999 against a chamber organziation that was a precurser to DavenportOne. In that suit the city agreed then it had no right to prevent people from “peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights.”

In the book, Edwards says her husband, John, admitted just days before announcing his run for president in 2006 to his now widely publicized extramarital affair. According to the New York Daily News, she writes that she then asked her husband not to run for president in the 2008 campaign, to protect their family from public scrutiny.

Edwards eventually finished second in the Iowa Caucuses to Barack Obama before dropping out and endorsing him. Clinton finished third and was dealt what many consider a fatal blow to her presidential aspirations. Now, former Clinton pollster Mark Penn tells ABC News that it would have been a very different race if Edwards hadn’t run.

“Most likely it would have been a two-way race and would have released a lot of voters who focused on demographics . . . voters who would later vote for Hillary Clinton.”

This isn’t the first round of former Clintonites blaming their loss, at least partially, on Edwards. When news of the affair first broke last August, former Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson said if Edwards had been forced from the race earlier his candidate “would have won Iowa” and been the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

But polling data from the night of the Caucuses does tend to contradict Penn and Wolfson’s points.

In an interview with former Iowa Independent writer John Deeth, University of Iowa political science professor David Redlawsk said a Caucus night poll showed 82 percent of Edwards supporters said they would support another candidate and 18 percent would not.

“When we asked which candidate they would then support, 32 percent said Clinton and 51 percent said Obama,” he said. “Had this actually happened statewide, Obama would have been even further ahead of Clinton.”

Now these were voters who spent the campaign listening to all three before deciding on who to support, so their opinions could have been much different if Edwards were never involved in the race from the beginning. But as Deeth pointed out back in August, the Clinton campaign’s focus on experience and being “ready to go on day one” was in stark contrast to the campaigns of Edwards and Obama, where change from the status quo was the rallying cry.

The Clinton that emerged later in the 2008 campaign that garnered support from mostly older and working class voters might have done better in Iowa, but that campaign message seemed to evolve because her defeat in Iowa and several early states, so it didn’t do her much good in the Hawkeye State.

In the end, it’s impossible to know what might have been.

Deace, who hosts an afternoon drive-time show on WHO 1040, spoke with Coulter Feb. 26 about her latest book and the state of the conservative movement. Then, near the end of the interview, discussion turned to Romney and a frequent complaint the anti-abortion movement has with him – that the health care plan he supported in Massachusetts allowed for government subsidized abortions.

That portion of the interview, which included several pleas from Coulter to drop the Romney discussion and move on (including calling her critics “crazy Romney froofers” and comparing them to 9-11 conspiracy theorists) was pieced together for the video with other radio interviews in Florida, California and Colorado where the hosts gave her a similarly hard time.

“Coulter can answer soft-ball criticism from the left,” ARTL Vice President Steve Curtis said. “But she always has ‘to run’ when Christian journalists document her misinformation and ask for a correction?”

Romney famously lost his cool while appearing on WHO’s Jan Mickelson Show back in 2007. Romney and the show’s host engaged in a heated discussion about the Mormon faith that spilled into their off-air conversation. The radio station videotaped the entire exchange and it eventually made its rounds on the Internet (Romney asserts the video was taken without his knowledge).

Deace has been a long time critic of Romney, throwing his support before the 2008 Caucuses behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Before the eventual Republican presidential nominee, John McCain, chose his running mate, Deace and a group of social conservative activists publicly called for radio host Rush Limbaugh to stop calling for Romney’s inclusion on the ticket.

(h/t Wendy Norris at the Colorado Independent)

The 527, called Independent Voices, attacked Boswell’s opponent in the Democratic primary, Ed Fallon, with direct-mail fliers accusing him of being soft on sex offenders and an opponent of ethanol subsidies. The mailers, which were widely criticized, were just one part of an ugly primary campaign where Boswell focused on Fallon’s party loyalty, sending several mailers reminding voters of Fallon’s support for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader in 2000.

Independent Voices was chaired by Red Brannan, an Ankeny Democrat and former member of the Polk County Board of Supervisors. Boswell’s campaign was accused of coordinating the attack ads with the group, which would have constituted excessive in-kind contributions from Independent Voices to Boswell for Congress.

Boswell flatly denied the allegations, and the FEC ruling supports his claims.

“The Commission found no reason to believe that Independent Voices made an excessive in-kind contribution,” the ruling said. “The Commission also found no reason to believe that Boswell for Congress and [Carl] McGuire, in his official capacity as treasurer, violated the Act by knowingly accepting and failing to report an excessive in-kind contribution.”

Sarah Palin at a rally in Sioux City. (Photo: Douglas Burns)

And the exclusive story is no longer the exclusive domain of the traditional media. In many cases, it’s the small, independent media that are breaking stories and driving the news these days.

With that in mind, the Iowa Independent would like to share the best of the stories that you read here first.

1. Why John McCain will select Sarah Palin as running mate by Douglas Burns (June 29, 2008)

Sarah who?

That was pretty much the reaction in June when the Iowa Independent’s Doug Burns not only said the one-term governor from Alaska should be John McCain’s vice presidential pick, but that she would be his pick. By late August, McCain actually did choose Palin to be his running mate, and Burns (and his crystal ball) were vindicated.

2. Agriprocessors official who sold used cars and favors has fled the country, residents say by Lynda Waddington (June 20, 2008)

If a scoop is defined as getting a story before any other news organization, then Lynda Waddington’s story about Hasom Amara, a former supervisor at Agriprocessors, can be counted as a super scoop. That’s because she not only broke the news to the public that Amara had fled the country, she broke the news to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division.

3. Dems’ coordinated campaign largely disbanded, replaced by Obama staff by Jason Hancock (July 3, 2008)

In a year that saw Democrats expand their majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, you wouldn’t think there would be much talk of missed opportunities. But in the months leading up to Election Day, Democrats were predicting (and Republicans were bracing for) huge gains that never came. This despite the fact that Obama overwhelmingly carried the Hawkeye State with his army of volunteers and paid staff blanketing the state and turning out supporters.

So are Iowans just notorious ticket-splitters, or was there something else to blame? Many point back to one of Obama’s first post-primary decisions, to forgo participating in the state party’s coordinated campaign and instead focus all efforts on his own election, a story we broke in Iowa. Many predicted at the time that this could make legislative races tighter, a hypothesis that seems to have panned out.

4. Fallon faces campaign finance questions By Chase Martyn (March 30, 2008)

Former state Rep. Ed Fallon

The Democratic primary for the Third Congressional District between incumbent Leonard Boswell and Ed Fallon garnered national attention and was widely expected to go right down to the wire. In the end, Boswell cruised to victory. Two major factors seemed to pull Fallon’s support down in the months leading up to the primary vote. The first was his outspoken support for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader in 2000, something Boswell repeatedly used to try and show Fallon was somehow less of a loyal Democrat. The second was a report by the Iowa Independent calling into question the campaign finance ethics of Fallon’s for-profit political advocacy organization “I’m for Iowa.”

One of Fallon’s major lines of attack was Boswell’s stance on campaign finance reform, calling the Blue Dog Democrat a pawn of corporate America due to his willingness to accept millions of dollars from corporate political action committees. So when Fallon revealed that his for-profit advocacy organization accepted contributions that would never be disclosed, cries of hypocrisy quickly followed, whether justified or not. His campaign never seemed to regain traction.

5. Iowa’s intelligence fusion center ‘connects the dots’ By Jason Hancock (July 29, 2008)

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government began creating a nationwide intelligence network with a headquarters in every state. The fusion center concept was born. Here in Iowa, very little was known about the organization, even though its major structure had been in place for years and its director, Russell Porter, was a well-known figure in the national intelligence community. As part of a nationwide series including the Iowa Independent and its sister sites in Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado and Michigan, the doors of this secretive organization were flung open. Soon after our coverage, the story of the Iowa Intelligence Fusion Center was being told on national television.

6.  The invocation that stole the show from Sen. John McCain by John Deeth (Oct. 11, 2008)

John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, had not yet arrived at an Oct. 11 Davenport event, so naturally very few media members had bothered to show. Luckily, the Iowa Independent’s John Deeth is much like a Marine -– first one in, last one out, which meant he was practically the only one there to file the following report:

Before McCain’s arrival, a minister delivering an invocation said, “There are plenty of people around the world who are praying to their god, be they Hindu, Buddah, or Allah, that (McCain’s) opponent wins. … And Lord, I pray that you step forward and honor your own name.”

The story quickly made its way across the Internet, and the preacher who made the remark, The Rev. Arnold Conrad, past pastor of the Grace Evangelical Free Church, was later “honored” as Keith Olbermann’s “Worst Person in the World.”

7. Obama/Richardson Caucus deal by Chase Martyn and Lynda Waddington (Jan. 2, 2008)

There is a lot of wheeling and dealing on Caucus night. One day before Iowans rocketed Barack Obama to front-runner status, the Iowa Independent reported on possible deals between New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and the Obama campaign that directed Richardson supporters to caucus for Obama in the second round of voting.  Both sides (and nearly every other Democratic candidate) denied the deal, but we found plenty of evidence on the ground.

8. GOP platform calls for end to ethanol mandate By Jason Hancock (Sept. 3, 2008)

It was a move that received very little attention on a night when most of the Republican National Convention was cancelled because of concerns over Hurricane Gustav, but for farm states, it was a big deal. The GOP’s national platform for the first time called for an end to a mandate that gasoline contain a set amount of ethanol. Overall, the 2008 RNC Convention was not kind to the ethanol industry, with Sen. John McCain and his vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin hardly mentioning biofuels as part of the energy mix of the future. The move was seen as a putting the party in line with its presidential candidates, but many observers said at the time that it would cost Republicans support up and down the ballot in agricultural states like Iowa.

A record 1,546,453 participated statewide in the general election. The 72 percent turnout rate matches that of 2004. Of the 1.54 million total voters, a record 557,000 opted to vote early by absentee ballot.

“These numbers show Iowans remained enthusiastic through the caucuses right up until the General Election,” Secretary of State Michael Mauro said in a released statement. “More people participated in this election than any other in the past. Iowans should be proud of our voting process and be proud of the fact they made history this election.”

Official results can be viewed on the Secretary of State’s Web site, by visiting www.sos.state.ia.us.

“I think [blogging] can be very good,” Thomas said in a one-on-one interview Thursday afternoon. “It is important, however, for them to get some help and training from legitimate journalists who can tell them about standards and ethics. The problem is that when everyone who has a laptop thinks that he’s a journalist, the potential of ruining lives and ruining reputations is there.”

She points to training and standards as mechanisms for ensuring all writers maintain a certain level of legitimacy.

“All journalists need to learn standards and ethics — of being responsible for what they say and do and print,” she said during an interview in Des Moines. “When that is reached, that’s when [blogging] will be helpful.”

Well aware of how Iowa can influence national politics, and how certain personalities in the White House can influence the nation, Thomas also has a reminder for Iowans as our state moves closer to the 2008 caucus.

“I hope that Iowans understand that in leading the way they have an incredible decision to make,” she said. “They will be telling the people of the nation ‘this is our choice’ and ‘we have made a real sound judgment.’ It is just a tremendous responsibility and one I believe Iowans take seriously.”

While she wouldn’t name her choice for president, she did have advice for others as they decide.

“They need to think about who could really be best person for our country,” she said. “They don’t need to think in political party lines or any of that. I hope they think about if the person would be able to rise to all the occasions — because there will be one crisis after another. Does the person have the stamina, the integrity, the principles? Why is this person here? Is the person simply ambitious — full of their own ego — or does the person really want to do something right, something good for us?”

Thomas, 86, was in Iowa to serve as keynote speaker for the annual luncheon of Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. She served up anecdotes and insights from her years in the White House press corps to the standing-room only crowd. Introduced with reference to her signature phrase for ending closed presidential conferences, “Thank you, Mr. President,” Thomas began her official remarks by confessing there were several times she wanted to say, “No thank you, Mr. President.” She also assured those in attendance that, although she was visiting from Washington D.C., she was not a candidate for president — but, if elected, she said she will serve.

The humor and wit continued throughout her 10 minutes of remarks and the lengthier question-and-answer period that followed. This did not mean, however, that she avoided hot-button issues.

“I hope the voters will demand of the presidential candidates the unvarnished truth on mainly the disastrous war in Iraq — the war without end, the war to nowhere,” she said. “There are those in power who cry about government interference in private lives — until the question of abortion rights comes up. They are very concerned about the unborn; however, the ongoing slaughter — daily — in Iraq evokes no shock.”

Thomas, who has covered every president since John F. Kennedy, has no qualms about peppering candidates and presidents with tough questions. In response to an observation from a reporter that Thomas seems never to have backed down, she responded:

“Why shouldn’t we stand up to them? Who are they? You don’t have to back down because they work for us and they answer to us.”

Thomas served for 57 years as a correspondent and White House bureau chief for United Press International. She was the first woman officer of the National Press Club, was the first woman member and president of the White House Correspondents Association and the first woman member of the Gridiron Club. She is also the author of four books, including her latest released in paperback in June: “Watchdogs of Democracy? The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public.”

Included on the site include numerous links to social networking utilities like YouTube, Facebook and MySpace as well as newer features like Veoh and Eventful.

On a conference call with bloggers yesterday Harkin spoke about his new website and his goals for the 2008 campaign.  Harkin was joined on the call by Ryan Alexander, campaign blogger and online strategist.

Harkin said the website relaunch, including a new campaign blog and the social networking features, was part of his natural campaign approach.

“This is a valuable medium that I want to get really involved in,” he said.  “I believe in grassroots politics, I always have.  To me, doing this is about as bottom up as you can get.”

Alexander added, “From our campaign events, to our online fundraising on ActBlue, to our campaign blog, the new TomHarkin.com is focused making Iowans an active participant in our collective campaign to move Iowa and America forward.”

During Harkin’s last re-election campaign in 2002 there wasn’t an Iowa blogosphere to lean on for support or to campaign with.  But the elections of 2004 and 2006 have prompted most campaigns to overhaul their sites and begin working with Web 2.0 applications.

“The first time I ever blogged my steak fry was with Howard Dean in 2003,” said Harkin. “I thought ‘Hey, that was a pretty good idea.’”

The campaign is also using progressive funding intermediary ActBlue to conduct online fundraising for the campaign.  ActBlue allows users to contribute online and then cuts checks to each campaign that is listed on their site.  It also allows individuals to create their own fundraising pages and invite their friends to give and raise money for Harkin and other Democratic candidates as well.

Harkin said that by using ActBlue he was hearkening back to when he first started campaigning for office in the 1970s via house parties and other fundraising mediums that focused on progressive activists and their friends.

Expanding into social networking sites also fits in to the campaign’s strategy of reaching out to progressives across Iowa as well as across the country.

“We are reaching out to users on social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace because they have been proven to be effective tools in facilitating a two-way and multidimensional conversation with voters, particularly younger voters, in an environment that is comfortable to them,” Alexander said.

Harkin added, “We don’t have a concentrated population, and in the areas with a few progressives, this is a way to reach out to them. They’re some of your best progressives out in those areas.”

Harkin has yet to line up a strong challenger in 2008.  So far only Cedar Rapids businessman Steve Rathje has declared candidacy against Harkin.  However Reps. Steve King and Tom Latham, both of Iowa, have been pondering a challenge.

“I’m approaching web strategy just like the rest of my campaign,” Harkin said.  “I’m going to campaign like I’m the Republicans’ top target, which I usually am.”

Harkin is also calling on bloggers to put the pressure on Senate Republican defectors of President Bush’s Iraq strategy.

“You’ve got to hold their feet to the fire,” he said.  Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa has more here.

In a press release that still does exist, Brownback explained his vote today against cloture: “I became convinced along with many of my colleagues on the floor that this version of the immigration bill was not, and would not become the vehicle that would fix our broken system as I had hoped.”

Or perhaps he became convinced that if he continued to support the current immigration bill, he would continue to be hammered by conservatives and the other ’08 Republican hopefuls. Indeed, in a previous interview, Tamara Scott, a prominent Iowa social conservative and head of the Iowa chapter of Concerned Women for America, called Brownback “a solid senator [though] there does seem to be some concern with his immigration stance when I talk to people.”

Though his recent vote against cloture will please some conservatives, there is the potential that a) conservatives won’t believe Brownback’s commitment to the issue considering his lengthy support of the bill and b) that he will be seen as a flip-flopper, just another pandering politician. We'll see if conservatives are able to make up their minds.