CNN and YouTube helped make this scenario a reality Nov. 28 when the two hooked up and hosted a Republican presidential debate. Just two days before the 14th anniversary of the enactment of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) law that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, the candidates were asked to tell what they thought about the law.

During the debate, retired Brigadier Gen. Keith Kerr asked: “I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians.” Kerr, a Santa Rosa, Calif., native, served in the armed forces for 43 years, and, without being asked, told the audience that he’s an openly gay man.

Now the catch. The candidates could either agree with President Clinton’s initiative, or disagree with DADT, which implicitly supports Sen. Hillary Clinton’s stance. Sen. Clinton says the “outdated and outmoded” approach should be repealed. Either way, the GOP hopefuls still end up agreeing with a Clinton, a major political faux pas in the Republican Party.

The plot thickens. It turns out Kerr had been named a co-chairman of Hillary Clinton’s National Military Veterans group. After the debate, Kerr told CNN that he had not done work for the Clinton campaign. CNN claimed that Kerr told them he is a member of the Log Cabin Republicans and was representing no one other than himself. The day after the debate, Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer said the retired general “is not a campaign employee and was not acting on behalf of the campaign.”Regardless of who Kerr was representing, the question had been asked and who asked it does not negate the question itself. The same question was asked at a Republican presidential debate in June. However, despite the legitimacy of Kerr’s question, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, who moderated the debate, felt compelled to apologize to the Republican candidates. “We never would have used the general’s question had we known that he was connected to any presidential candidate.”

True, there are some ethical issues to consider about the process of how the question was asked, but this merely serves as a distraction from how the candidates responded (see video below).

California Rep. Duncan Hunter took the first swing at DADT and played the Colin Powell card, who Hunter quoted as saying that “having openly homosexual people serving in the ranks would be bad for unit cohesion.” However, nearly three in four troops (73 percent) say they are personally comfortable in the presence of gays and lesbians (Zogby International & the Michael D. Palm Center 2006 study).

Hunter, a military veteran, attempted to defend DADT with the unit-cohesion fallacy, while simultaneously assailing the fact that 23 of the other 26 NATO countries are open to gays serving in the military. “Even though people point to the Israelis and point to the Brits and point to other people as having homosexuals serve, is that most Americans, most kids who leave that breakfast table and go out and serve in the military and make that corporate decision with their family, most of them are conservatives,” Hunter argued. “They have conservative values, and they have Judeo-Christian values. To force those people to work in a small tight unit with somebody who is openly homosexual goes against what they believe to be their principles, and it is their principles, is I think a disservice to them.”

Is Hunter suggesting the military segregate soldiers based on ideology to maintain unit cohesion? The military has a history of being one of the first governmental institutions to implement desegregation policies, yet Hunter wants to reverse this trend, which President Harry S. Truman initiated in 1950.

In an attempt to appeal to his conservative base, Hunter opened up a new vein of discrimination against moderates and liberals serving in the military. The big question is, if elected, would Hunter expand DADT to include anyone whose ideology isn’t consistent with the conservatives?

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee echoed Hunter’s unit-cohesion stance. However, Huckabee did manage to undermine the premise of Hunter’s argument about protecting conservative principles. “The Uniform Code of Military Justice is probably the best rule, and it has to do with conduct. People have a right to have whatever feelings, whatever attitudes they wish,” Huckabee said. “But when their conduct could put at risk the morale, I think that’s what is at issue. And that’s why our policy is what it is.”

Here, Huckabee argues that it’s a homosexual’s conduct that jeopardizes morale, and by conduct I assume he’s referring to sexual conduct. However, no other soldier’s sexual conduct is put under the morality microscope, so under a Huckabee administration, soldiers who indulge in pre-marital sex or adultery are given a free pass.

Not to mention, the morale for combat troops in Iraq has already been plummeting, even with the DADT policy in place. Released in May, a Pentagon mental health study of troops in Iraq found 45 percent of junior enlisted Army soldiers rated their unit’s morale as low or very low. Twenty percent of soldiers and 15 percent of Marines were found to have a mental health problem, defined as anxiety, depression or acute stress.

The report was based on data collected from some 1,300 soldiers and nearly 450 Marines in Iraq last fall. About two-thirds of those surveyed said they knew someone who had been killed or injured. More than three-quarters of soldiers and Marines said they had been in situations where they could have been killed or seriously injured.

The report also indicated 56 percent of soldiers were highly concerned about the long tours, something Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., tried to address with an amendment (S. AMDT. 2012) that would improve military readiness and require periods of downtime before redeployment. The amendment was successfully filibustered by the Republicans in the Senate, much to the chagrin of Webb, a Vietnam War veteran, who shared his disappointment on the Senate floor: “Today the Republicans decided to filibuster an amendment that goes straight to the well-being of our troops. I deeply regret this move. They expect us to take the sort of positive action that might stabilize the operational environment into which our troops are being sent again and again.”

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain borrowed a tactic from the current Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush and deferred their commander-in-chief obligations to the military leaders in the field. “I look forward to hearing from the military exactly what they believe is the right way to have the right kind of cohesion and support in our troops, and I listen to what they have to say,” Romney said.

McCain reassured the audience he has his ear to the ground in Iraq and keeps in constant contact with military leaders in the field. “Almost unanimously, they tell me that this present policy is working, that we have the best military in history, that we have the bravest, most professional, best prepared, and that this policy ought to be continued because it’s working.” Even if McCain’s assertion is proven to be true, one would have to question the sources. To openly question or refute an order that was signed by someone at the top of the chain-of-command goes contrary to a soldier’s training. Military personnel are trained to follow orders, and this includes generals.

McCain’s intelligence-gathering doesn’t hold the same weight with retired generals. A group of 28 retired U.S. generals and admirals released a statement Nov. 29 urging Congress to repeal the current ban on openly gay troops:

We respectfully urge Congress to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Those of us signing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish. As General Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said when the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was enacted, it is not the place of the military or those in senior leadership to make moral judgments.

Scholarly data shows there are approximately one million gay and lesbian veterans in the United States today, as well as 65,000 gays and lesbians currently serving in our armed forces. They have served our nation honorably.

We support the recent comments of another former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General John Shalikashvili, who has concluded that repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy would not harm, and would indeed help, our armed forces. As is the case in Britain, Israel, and other nations which allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion, and sexuality. Such collaboration reflects the strength and the best traditions of our democracy.

The post-debate dust has already settled, and the GOP candidates have resumed their silence on the issue of DADT — at least until the general election. While they can afford to choose silence or risk losing their conservative base, the same luxury does not hold true for the 65,000 gay soldiers still serving in the military, who have had no choice but to remain silent for their entire careers under DADT.

GOP Congressmen Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter couldn’t buy a top-three finish at the Straw Poll, nor could they buy any R-E-S-P-E-C-T from Fox News.

Fox News also failed to mention their names in its online news story, yet they gave a nod to the three GOP candidates who weren’t even participating in the fund-raising event.Ironically, Fox’s 2008 presidential news coverage, “You Decide 2008,” has helped voters decide by deciding not to include all of the participating candidates in its fair and balanced reporting.

On the campaign trail in Iowa, a number of Ron Paul supporters have told me that their candidate has been ignored by the mainstream media – as reported in the Iowa Independent:

During Thursday’s campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, not everyone was interested in seeing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the same reasons. While GOP supporters squeezed into the Spring House Family Restaurant, a group of Rep. Ron Paul faithfuls gathered across the street and held up signs proclaiming support for Paul and disgust with Giuliani. “We’re here to help get the word out on Ron Paul, because he’s not getting any of the media attention,” said Iowa City resident Pam Wagner.

I’ve also heard people contend that Paul supporters may be a little hypersensitive to the lack of national media campaign coverage and face time in the televised debates. While the latter claim can be substantiated with clock time, the former will be left to the viewers, pundits and media analysts as they surf the television, internet and traditional news media sources for bias and unbalanced coverage.

Meanwhile, it’s up to voters to develop their media literacy, while simultaneously holding the media accountable for its coverage and should always ask: “Is this report fair and balanced?”

That’s for You to decide.

[Commentary] The Duncan Hunter folks had to feel something like the kid at the science fair who has the lame exhibit in the corner, next to the door that leads to a septic tank or perhaps a closet full of wrestling shorts the team manager has neglected.

But the Hunter people weren’t taking lightly any dismissive comments from national media types at Saturday’s Iowa Straw Poll.

When a TV reporter approached Hunter’s national communications director as he was barbecuing corn on the cob, and asked the staffer about the relatively “small” size of the Hunter shindig north of Hilton Coliseum, Roy Tyler had a ready answer.

“What do you mean small?” Tyler shot back. “We have Elvis Presley and the only homemade ice cream.”

They did have an Elvis impersonator, although Tyler made an impassioned case to Iowa Independent that the Great Fried Peanut Butter Sandwich-Eating One had in fact returned from that B Movie in the sky to promote Hunter’s run at history.

And that’s not all.

Hunter was giving away a gun, apparently through a raffle of some sort. Most of the Republicans in attendance sounded like they had at least one gun already (judging by the applause for the standard National Rifle Association lines) but perhaps wouldn’t mind having another, you know, what with the crime rate in places like What Cheer, Iowa, being so Boyz In The Hood.

Tyler, a Texan, insisted the gun (he told me the model but I couldn’t write the numbers fast enough) was manufactured completely within the United States and that Team Hunter would background-check anyone with the winning ticket. There were, after all, Ron Paul
  supporters to be wary of – or so said straw poll host Laura Ingraham (the conservative commentator) who flatly observed that the “inmates have left the asylum” as the Paul supporters swooned and screeched for their man to take the stage a few hours later.

Divided We Fail is a group working to “engage the American people, elected officials and the business community to find broad-based, bi-partisan solutions to the most compelling domestic issues facing the nation.” Those issues include health care and the long-term financial security of Americans.

Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Mitt Romney, John Cox and Tommy Thompson will be participating in today’s event.

The crowd is beginning to file in the room….

  Everybody is wearing red T-shirts .with the DividedWeFail.org logo.

A little more about Divided We Fail from the handouts we’ve been given: it’s a group that includes AARP, former Republican Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, Communications Workers of America, DeWaay Capital Management, Des Moines University, Easter Seals, Iowa Association of Homes & Services for the Aging, Iowa Caregivers Association, Iowa Credit Union League, Iowa Health Care Association, Long Term Care Guild of Des Moines, Qwest Communications, SEIU Iowa and Wells Dairy.

It’s a steady stream of folks now coming into this wonderful air-conditioned building, as the crew is putting the final touches on the stage set.

Getting close to the start of the program. Most of the seats are full. I’m sitting next to Marc Cooper, contributing editor of The Nation. Having a nice coversation. He’s traveling around Iowa covering the campaign.

Bruce Koeppl, Divided We Fail campaign manager, is now welcoming everyone and explaining the importance of health care and long-term financial security. He said he wants to put a spotlight on these issues and demand answers.

Koeppl is now talking about a pledge card that all of the audience has been given, looking for volunteers to work with their program. “That’s the whole point folks, we’ve got to keep our efforts visible to these candidates.”

Koeppl announced that there will be a Democratic candidates forum on Sept. 20 in Davenport. Another Republican forum will be held in Sioux City on Oct. 25.

Now we’re hearing some stats: only nine minutes of a 90 minute forum was devoted to health care questions at the recent Drake debate.

Ray Hoffmann, chair of Republican party just arrived.

And now…former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is being introduced.

Huckabee: We need to be talking about health care more in these debates. Remarkable that it touches every American and number one economic issue. Thanks to AARP. And also thanks for having this forum in and air-conditioned room!
Huckabee is talking about his time as a governor and dealing with Medicaid. Health care is having an impact on economic development.
Also a personal issue. If I had been here two years ago, there would have been 150 pounds more of me here with you today. I’m now doing things at age 51 that I couldn’t do at age 18.

Health care system is designed so that we wait until people are catastrophically ill. Need fundamental shift to a preventive health system.

Wants people to have personal ownership of their own health care. Not employer-based. People need to know more about the quality of their health care, bring more competition into health care.

Huckabee hopes to have a health care plan by November. More than enough money in the system. Need to truly recognize that chronic disease is the main cost in health care, mostly from unhealthy eating, smoking and other problems.

Talking about time as governor, reducing co-pays and deductibles for preventive exams.
“We give people breaks on company time to smoke, but what about if they want to walk or exercise? We don’t reward people for taking care of themselves.”

This is a cultural shift, it’s transformational. It’s not impossible. We have done it before. Littering, seat belt use, smoking, drunk driving, we’ve changed dramatically the habits of people before we can do it again.

Now time for questions. Huckabee is asked about how 87 percent of Americans feel that health care is important issue. Prescription drug costs are a problem What will you do about it. Provides an an
Also asked about personal retirement security. Need to look at different ways to approach the retirement system. He’s funny, says: Folks, you’re just living too long, and I’m sorry we’re just going to need to take some of you out today. Big laughs. Goes on to talk about some basic changes and then talks about tax code changes and the Fair Tax, getting big applause.

Huckabee wraps up, getting in a plug for support at the straw poll. Ends by saying that health care is a national security issue.

Next up, California Rep. Duncan Hunter. Starts off with a little trouble with his microphone. Begins talking about his son who is serving in Afghanistan. And introduces his other son, Sam, who is with him today. Quick to mention how nice Huckabee is.

Tells a story about a constituent who had to wear a plastic wrist brace. Says the brace couldn’t be worth $10, but the price was over $500.

Need to end the policy that bans purchasing health care policies across state lines. “Let’s let people buy across state lines. You can buy almost anything, but you can’t by a health care policy across state lines.”

Hunter explains some of the problems in health care regarding the inability of people to only purchase coverage for things they will need to be covered for. Get rid of all the state-level mandates added by powerful lobbies in state legislatures.

Hunter wraps it up, and begins taking questions. Question about long-term care, while preserving one’s dignity. He says, wherever possible, he’d like to see a system that works toward keeping senior citizens in their own home. Use tax incentives, incentives to family members, other incentives to encourage people to stay in their homes. Maybe provide tax incentives to home health care providers.

Hunter finishes by saying freedom is the catalyst for improvement. Socialist medicine won’t work. Freedom made this country great, let’s pursue freedom for quality medical care.

And now it’s time for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Romney is widely seen as the front-runner here in Iowa, and this is his first appearance at the Iowa State Fair. It will be interesting to see his level of applause.

Romney comes out with his wife, Ann. The only candidate to come out on the stage with somebody else. Romney tells a joke that I didn’t get.

Ann takes the mic and tells everybody how much they love Iowa. And they’ve brought the whole family to the fair, having a great time.

Now Mitt takes the mic, leading off with a story about a car. An American Rambler. Moral of the story, change is good.

Tells his story about getting things done, providing results in the private sector, and fixing problems in government. Making advances in education. Able to balance the budget without raising taxes.

Romney says we keep hearing people year after year talking about fixing health care, but nothing ever gets done. Tells the story about how he got everyone in Massachusetts health insurance by working together with 85 percent Democratic legislature.

Says he doesn’t have a political career. Spent most of his life working in the private sector. Says we need a leader in Washington who will tell the truth and work together to overcome challenges.

Time for questions. First question is from a fifth grade girl. Asks about preventive health care.

Romney says everyone needs to have health insurance, keep families together, live healthier. Second question is from a guy asking about what can be done to improve financial or economic literacy.

Romney talks about teaching people the economics of saving. Problems with credit card purchasing. Helping kids learn more about economics would have a big impact. Also a special savings plan. New tax plan. Zero taxes on savings interest.

Romney is now finishing with his closing remarks. Talks about the Republican party being the party of strength.

After his closing remarks, Romney makes sure to step over into the audience and shake hands with Terry Branstad.

Now it’s time for John Cox. He turned around a failing potato chip business. At least 20 to 25 people just left the room after Romney was done.

Cox begins with basically the same stump speech as  the one he gave earlier at the Des Moines Register soapbox. He’s talking about health care as being no different than any other service or product. No matter what, it can’t escape from the laws of supply and demand. What’s wrong with health care is that there is a huge demand, and not enough supply.
He mentions the British legal system as being a model that has been successful, and not as detrimental to doctors.

Cox keeps hammering away at pure capitalist principles as being the way to bring down health care costs. Supply and demand, and more freedom in the system will bring things back into equilibrium, bring more market efficiencies.

Cox is receiving a question from Sara Swisher, representing SEIU, the largest health care union in the country. Question, what can be done to break the Washington gridlock that has stopped change in health care.

Cox is closing with a talk about his experience in finance, and discusses ways to teach children how to improve their financial security throughout their lives. Says we need to start finding market-based solutions to our problems. The only way that we’re going to be able to address our problems is through the free market.
He finishes by talking about the problem of career politicians. Closes with a call for support in the caucuses.

Our neighbor from the Badger State, former Gov. Tommy Thompson, is now on the stage and really feels in his element. I never would have expected, but Tommy got the loudest welcome of all the candidates here today. He’s got some history with working with this organization on health care issues in the past.

Thompson is the most well-versed on health care issues of the candidates here today. He talks about his long record of working with health care solutions, “I know health care, I speak it, I lecture it. I go all around the country.” He said he also knows about personal health care crises. Pledges to end breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer.

The crowd is really on his side. as he closes.

Thompson is now taking a couple of questions. The first is about Medicare reimbursement rates, something that is a big issue with Iowa having the worst reimbursement rate in the nation.
Second question is about Social Security. He says Medicare is in much worse shape than Social Security. Wants to make sure that kids can start individual thrift accounts for retirement savings.

Tommy is now closing his presentation. He says he passionate about transforming health care, passionate about Social Security. He says he is different than other candidates because he is offering real solutions. Says we have to start solving problems. Stop tearing each other down and start solving problems together.

Branstad is now offering the closing remarks for the event, thanking everyone for being here and taking the initiative with the organization. Urges people to take their role in the presidential process in a very thoughtful way.
That’s all from the Maytag Theater.

It didn't take long for several Republican presidential candidates to arrive at the fair and begin shaking hands.

California Congressman Duncan Hunter was the first to take to the mic at the Des Moines Register's Soapbox, which really is just a few bales of straw and a PA system. Hunter's stump speech focused mostly on the familiar themes of national defense and "criminal immigrants."

Hunter brought with him a small group of sign-wavers, and an equally small number of fair-goers stopped to listen to his speech. He was a bit overdressed for a day at the fair, sweating in a suit and tie. He quickly removed his jacket.

With the Iowa Republican Straw Poll just days away, Hunter was asked by reporters about his expectations. He was quick to emphasize that he hasn't spent as much time on the campaign trail as some of the candidates, but he expects to do well at the Ames event.

Iowa Independent asked Hunter about his vote against the 2007 Farm Bill on July 27 in the U.S. House. He said he couldn't recall the specific vote on the farm legislation or exactly why he voted against it except that it was "probably because of the cost."

Hunter said he was planning to walk around a bit then stop by the WHO-Radio studios.

Hunter's path intersected with another Republican congressman running for president, Ron Paul of Texas.  (More on Paul inside.)

Ron Paul Outshines Hunter 

Paul had a noticeably larger and louder contingent of followers at the fair. He took to the soapbox to share his belief in limited government and a return to original constitutional principles.
Paul's stance is what drives his beliefs that the war in Iraq was wrong, the income tax should be abolished, and government programs should be slashed.

Iowa Independent asked Paul about his vote against the 2007 Farm Bill. "I don't believe the government should be involved in farming at all," he said, adding he favored a federal policy that has no subsidies whatsoever for farmers.

As the two congressmen were meeting with Iowans along the Grand Concourse, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, one of several undeclared potential candidates for the Republican nomination, was at the WHO Radio studio on the fairgrounds, speaking with conservative talk-show host Jan Mickelson.

“Take a political convention and mix it with a tailgate party,” said Johnson County GOP activist Todd Versteegh of Saturday’s Iowa Republican straw poll at Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum in Ames. “If you’re a political junkie, this is a prime event.”

It may also be the last chance to see some of the Republican presidential candidates. Since its inception in 1979, the straw poll has grown from a low-key fund-raiser to the de facto first round of Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.

The day will see more losers than winners. What’s officially at stake for the candidates is no more than bragging rights. But the lack of something to brag about may be fatal. Lamar Alexander, Elizabeth Dole and Dan Quayle all dropped out after poor showings in 1999, while Pat Buchanan left the Republican Party to take over the remnants of Ross Perot’s Reform Party. In contrast, only one candidate — Orrin Hatch — dropped out after the actual caucuses.

“After next Saturday, between three to four of the candidates are going to drop out,” said Versteegh. “If you don’t want to see somebody potentially drop out, go support them.”The Iowa GOP itself may be one of the losers. The straw poll remains first and foremost a fund-raiser for the Iowa Republican Party. Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) Executive Director Chuck Laudner told Campaigns and Elections that the 1999 event took in $1 million. You have to show two things to vote in the straw poll: an Iowa ID and a ticket. Tickets are $35, up from $25 eight years ago. While some are sold to the public, the vast majority are purchased by the presidential campaigns and distributed to supporters, who are bused in for the event. The straw poll has become, in effect, a command performance for the GOP contenders and their wallets.

But the party’s hopes for 2007 took a hit early on when two top-tier contenders — former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona — said no thanks to the game of buying tickets and bringing buses, bands and barbecue. This essentially conceded the win to contender Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts.

Romney is still playing for the win, but was able to scale back his efforts, which pinches the state party’s pocketbook at a time when it needs help. Last year was a tough one for Iowa Republicans, who lost two congressional seats, both houses of the Legislature, and failed to retake the governorship.

Still, the hype is in the air, and the state party is estimating a turnout of up to 40,000 people. The Hilton Coliseum venue holds only about 12,000 people, so supporters of the different candidates will be shuffled in and out between the speeches. To hear everyone speak, you need a premium “red ticket,” or a seat in front of one of the many TVs that’ll be outside the hall in the candidate tents, along with food and live entertainment.

Rumors have been floating that smaller campaigns have quietly told their supporters to take advantages of Romney’s largesse, ride his buses, and then vote for someone else. “We’ve heard those rumors, too,” said Romney spokeswoman Sarah Pompei, “but we’re focusing on having the strongest organization on the ground in Ames.” Joe Seehusen of the Ron Paul campaign said hitching a ride with another campaign is “not something we’re encouraging. We have many enthusiastic supporters who are doing a variety of things, but the campaign is not encouraging or endorsing that.”

For the first time, issue groups will join the candidates in the tent and ticket presence. Fair Tax is promoting a flat national sales tax as a replacement for the entire tax code and is trying to get commitments from the campaigns. Along with candidates, Fair Tax is touring the state by bus. “Huckabee was with us in Hampton,” said Versteegh, who works for the organization, “and Duncan Hunter was with us on a couple stops. Tancredo’s been talking about it in some detail.” The only candidate who has offered a flat-out no is Giuliani.

Fair Tax is positioning itself as a home for undecided voters and as a potential power broker. The group is offering bus rides to people who “don’t want to commit to a candidate or don’t know,” said Versteegh.

Handicapping the Horses

Ostensibly, the straw poll “matters” as a test of organizational skill.  It bears little resemblance to a real election, given the need to buy a ballot and having only one polling place in the state.  But it bears a superficial enough resemblance to the organizational skills needed on caucus night that it is seen as, in the words of Pompei, “a dress rehearsal.”  It’s a classic horse-race event in the self-amplifying media echo chamber: It matters because someone says it matters, and so on, and so on.

Horse races are fun and exciting, so let’s place our bets.

The candidates break into three tiers: Romney and the phantoms, the do-or-die second tier, and the candidates who’ll be unaffected by the outcome.

Back when college football factored margin of victory into its rankings, next-door rival Nebraska used to run up the score against Iowa State to margins like 77-13. But when point totals were taken out of the mix, the Cornhuskers started playing the second-, third- and fourth-string players earlier in the game.

That’s sort of what’s happened with the Romney campaign. “Mr. Romney’s pretty much bought the election,” said Roy Tyler of the Duncan Hunter campaign. With Romney leading in Iowa polls, and with his chief rivals out of town on Saturday, he doesn’t have to bring his A game. “A win is a win,” said Romney’s spokeswoman, avoiding any numbers when asked.  Pompei also declined to say just how many Romney buses would be arriving, though Johnson County supporters mentioned at least three from the Iowa City-Coralville area alone at a Monday central committee meeting.

Pompei was quick to note, however, that the phantom candidates are still on the ballot. “Rudy Giuliani’s been around the state campaigning like he’s in the straw poll, and buying radio ads,” she said. John McCain has also been in the state recently, but has had a low profile as the week progresses, perhaps waiting for the field to thin before coming back. Bob Anderson of rural Swisher hosted a McCain event at his home Sunday, and said he “will be back extensively during September.”  For now, McCain is in New Hampshire — where most Democratic candidates are spending the week.

Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions group will have a big presence in Ames, conducting workshops before and after the candidates speak. The organization is planning a “major announcement” Sept. 27, among much speculation that this may involve a Gingrich candidacy.

The former speaker of the House of Representatives is not on the ballot, and no write-ins are allowed. The Iowa Republicans have, however, called out another undeclared candidate coyly hovering on the edge of the race, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, and placed him on the ballot. This sets up a phantom contest played out entirely in the spin zone. A poor Fred Thompson showing may spur Gingrich on, but if the Tennessean does well Gingrich may defer.

Ames is do or die for three candidates: Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Tommy Thompson.  The key rivalry here is Brownback vs. Huckabee. Both are appealing for the same social conservative niche, and there simply isn’t room for both of them to survive beyond Saturday. Sparks have been flying between the two camps for weeks.

Brownback has been more blatant in wooing  social conservatives, campaigning with Terri Schaivo’s brother and with “Jane Roe,” the Roe v. Wade plaintiff who has since converted to the anti-choice cause. Huckabee has presented a more-rounded campaign, emphasizing Fair Tax at many stops. Huckabee has been quoted as saying that a finish below fourth place would likely drive him from the race, and some national party leaders have tried to steer the former Arkansas governor toward a 2008 challenge to Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor. But Huckabee supporter Royce Phillips of Tiffin is confident: “We’re going to do well Saturday.”

Tommy Thompson — adding to the confusion of a big field, there’s two Toms and two Thompsons — has been a constant presence in Iowa for months. The former governor of next-door Wisconsin has been Winnebago-ing his way through nearly every Iowa county and boldly predicting a strong showing. His survival could depend most on his showing against absent contenders Giuliani, McCain and Fred Thompson. Iowa City supporter John Dane reports that he’s driving himself up to Ames to back Tommy Thompson.

Some candidates are unlikely to see their fate affected by Ames. Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo has already talked of refocusing his campaign toward primary challenges of Republican congressional incumbents whom he considers weak on illegal immigration. Still, Tancredo is joining most of the rest of the field in campaigning across Iowa this week.

Libertarian-Republican Ron Paul of Texas faces a test of whether he can translate his internet support into bodies on the ground in one place at one time. “Our internet efforts have had a positive fund-raising impact,” said spokesman Joe Seehusen. “That’s allowed us to embrace more traditional efforts in Iowa like direct mail and radio ads.” Paul has campaigned little in Iowa other than a high-profile rally in late June after he was excluded from a candidate forum. Yet this week he is making his first multi-day foray across Iowa.

Iowa blogger Noneed4theneed predicts a poor Paul showing:

The number of days Rep. Paul has campaigned dwarfs in comparison to every Republican candidate. To do well in Iowa you need to shake hands, lots of hands. Iowans don’t decide on who to support by what they hear on TV and fewer rely on the Internet, which is Paul’s strength. The strength of Internet support in Iowa is especially weak in rural areas, which are largely Republican. Iowans that live in rural counties value the opinions of their local paper and their neighbors, and many of these people have never visited a blog.

“We don’t expect to compete with other groups in terms of lavishness” in Ames, said Seehusen. “Dr. Paul, and his message of liberty and freedom, is the main event.” With his support largely indigestible by any other Republican candidate, the question for Paul after Ames may be whether he follows the Pat Buchanan precedent of leaving the party.

The Duncan Hunter campaign is staking little on the Ames outcome. Amid open speculation that he’s positioning himself for secretary of Defense in a Republican administration, the San Diego congressman may win the Orrin Hatch prize: in 1999 Hatch finished last but moved forward undeterred. “We have no big expectations, we’re just going to work hard and hope for the best,” said spokesman Roy Tyler of the Hunter campaign in a Wednesday interview. “The congressman’s 15 minutes of fame will be well spent.” The Hunter website has a “Buy A Ticket” link, suggesting that the lavishness may be lacking.

Every Republican cycle seems to include an obscure businessman who pledges businesslike government. This time it’s John Cox of Chicago. Cox has not been included in debates, and most national websites list him among the fringe candidates, but the Iowa GOP has always listed him with the “serious” candidates and is including him on the ballot.  Cox’s inclusion “was a decision between the Republican Party of Iowa and the state central committee, said Iowa Republican Party spokeswoman Mary Tiffany.  “He’s spent a lot of time here and come to a lot of party events.”  Cox cites his own conception, which was the result of rape, as the rationale for his absolute anti-abortion stance. Actively campaigning across Iowa, Cox has seemed far more serious than businessman candidate Morrie Taylor in 1996, who once famously won a tavern “straw” (as in drink stirrer) poll by buying a round for the house.

Not on the ballot is Alan Keyes. A surprisingly strong contender in 1996 and 2000, Keyes lost what credibility he had in a 2004 U.S. Senate race, moving from Maryland to Illinois to run and then losing 3-to-1 to some guy named Obama.  Nevertheless, Keyes will be in Ames plugging a Draft Keyes group — which he appears to have started himself.

Generation Joshua, a division of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), provides Christian youth (those 11 to 19 years old) various opportunities to become active in the political arena. “Our goal is to ignite a vision in young people to help America return to her Judeo-Christian foundations,” reads a letter from Director Ned Ryun on the organization’s website. “We provide students with hands-on opportunities to implement that vision.” Ryun was unavailable for comment for this article.

In addition to providing members with civics courses and scholarship awards, Generation Joshua, or GenJ, encourages active political engagement through sponsoring voter registration drives and the participation in local Gen JClubs and Student Action Teams. GenJ Clubs provide Christian home-schooled teens the opportunity to meet and discuss prayer and politics; there are currently 66 clubs across the country, though none in Iowa. GenJ members take part in parades and sometimes protests; members in Merced, Calif., made news by protesting against Planned Parenthood. During elections, members of these clubs become energetic volunteers for socially conservative candidates.

Laura Lundberg, 18, is president of the Northern Colorado Generation Joshua, which meets in Johnstown, Colo., once a month. “I just think that civic involvement is very important for our nation’s youth,” she said in an interview. “Our students of today are the leaders that we have tomorrow. I think it’s extremely important [we have leaders] that will direct our nation where it should be going.”

Lundberg, who has been home-schooled her whole life, said her political views have “a very strong basis in biblical values.” The daughter of Kevin Lundberg, a Republican state legislator, she said she opposed abortion and supported individual freedoms and lower taxes. “Those are values that motivate me as an individual. I firmly believe in them.”

Sunshine Gearhart hosts the monthly event in her home of Johnstown, Colo. Her daughter, Tatiana, is the group’s secretary and she acts as its adviser. “They’re a great group of kids,” she said. Meetings begin with the pledge of allegiance followed by a prayer for the country and its leaders; she said the sessions follow Robert’s Rules of Order.

The members of Northern Colorado Generation Joshua worked hard in the 2006 elections to support Republican Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez and Bob Schaffer for Colorado State Board of Education. Their door-knocking and leafleting worked for Musgrave and Schaffer who both won; and Schaffer’s campaign manager was a member of the GenJ chapter, according to Gearhart. “We support candidates that are pro-family, pro-home school,” she said. “We feel like being Christians, we are called to be politically active.”

Lundberg and Gearhart were joined by members of the Student Action Teams, groups of home-schooled teens who do get out the vote (GOTV) operations for HSLDA endorsed candidates. These teams, sponsored by the HSLDA PAC, knocked on more than 100,000 doors and made more than 400,000 phone calls in the four days before the 2006 midterm election, according to its website.

Michael Farris, chairman of the board and general counsel for HSLDA, has said that these teams will be out in the field for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, whom the organization has endorsed for president. Justin LaVan, a board member of the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators, said the teams would be noticed in the race for the caucuses. “They’ve been extremely effective. I know they’re actively coordinating things in Iowa,” he said in a recent interview. “I think it’s going to have a huge impact on the vote and what’s going on in Iowa. They have a proven track record.”

Lundberg said she had not yet decided on which candidate to support, but would actively volunteer once she made her decision.

SK Johnson, another home-schooled teen, is a strong supporter of California Congressman Duncan Hunter’s candidacy. A 17-year-old from Tennessee, Johnson has been home-schooled since “day one,” he said in an email. “A complete education is a Christian education, where I am growing in all areas of life both mentally and spiritually.” Johnson said his curriculum included Christian and non-Christian writers and focused on American history, Hebrew law, and the Enlightenment.

His family is a member of HSLDA, but he is not a member of a GenJ club because there isn't one in his area, he said. He would volunteer on the ground for Hunter if the lower-tiered Republican makes it far enough, but in the mean time Johnson is supporting his candidacy on his blog called “Duncan Hunter Grass-Revolt: Unofficial Grassroot HQ.” He said he likes Hunter’s strong opposition to abortion and illegal immigration.

Johnson said experience showed him home-schooled teens are active on the campaign trail. In 2006, he helped GOTV efforts with friends and family to successfully pass his state’s constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. “Homeschoolers are very well informed and when they work on a campaign, they combine that with a lot of active involvement, energy, and labor,” he said. “They always show up to volunteer at campaigns, to make phone calls, to set up signs, and communicate ideas to the people.”

Lundberg said home-schooled teens are more likely to get involved in politics than her public school counterparts. “I don’t think that public schools are teaching civic awareness in ways that young people want to get involved,” she said. “I know from experience. My friends from public schools have a lot harder time caring about political issues.”

Johnson said his faith moved him to act. “I am firmly a disciple and follower of Christ, and am a member of my church,” he said. “I believe that being a Christian is not just a matter of adhering to a list of beliefs and showing up on Sunday morning, but it's a living, breathing, life-altering form of existence.”

HR 2929, which would also limit the use of funds to exercise United States economic control of the oil resources of Iraq, passed 399 to 24, with the nays all coming from the GOP.  The measure now moves to the Senate, where passage may be more difficult, and would face a likely presidential veto.

The four presidential candidates in the House — Republicans Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo and Democrat Dennis Kucinich — all supported the measure.

NICHE is the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators, which acts as a clearinghouse for all things Christian home-school-related. The members, if not the organization itself, also act as a force in monitoring and shaping state and federal legislation concerning home education and intend to influence the outcome of the Iowa caucuses through their staunch support of a socially conservative candidate.

NICHE is “the only statewide organization in Iowa” for Christian home educators, NICHE board member Justin LaVan told Iowa Independent recently. Its mission is “to provide Christ-centered events, communication, and resources to better equip, inform and encourage Iowa home educators to the glory of God!” according to its website.

LaVan said the organization’s several thousand members want to instill in their children a specific value system. “They’re teaching principles of Christian education as opposed to secular education or as opposed to any type of education,” he said. “Education is not neutral.”

In public schools, he said, “a humanism perspective” is taught where “truth is relative.” He said NICHE members took issue with the idea that “we were created from just by happen chance and nature, [that] the whole universe is created by some kind of big bang.” In Christian education, LaVan said, “there is a creator; he created the universe and man in God’s image. There is a purpose beyond ourselves that we’re here for.”

LaVan, an attorney in Des Moines, volunteers his time as the organization’s legislative liaison to ensure that Christian educators are able to continue their work. He said NICHE monitors legislation in Iowa and in Washington, D.C. “We work on different legislative initiatives to lift some of the barriers to home education,” LaVan said. “There’s a lot of paperwork in Iowa that needs to be done. We’ve been trying to work through that with the Iowa legislature and the Department of Education in Iowa, and we’ve been rather successful.” NICHE members can sign up to receive e-mail alerts when relevant legislation comes up for debate, and though the website says, NICHE is “not a lobbying group,” it also says “Homeschooling families must remain diligently involved in local, state, and national government.”

One of NICHE’s primary activities is to sponsor an annual conference that hosts legal and religious experts as keynote speakers, along with up to 50 different workshops on home school projects, according to LaVan. “The conference is educationally related based on biblical home education teaching,” he said, and estimated that 2,000 to 3,000 people showed up at the 2007 conference. Half a dozen of those individuals deserve special mention—that’s because they’re running for president.

Hoping to court these influential socially conservative voters, many of the Republican contenders attended, including Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was represented by his Iowa chairman, Bob Vander Plaats, a prominent evangelical Christian, and California Congressman Duncan Hunter also had a representative, according to LaVan. He said the organization sent invitations to all the candidates to attend, though letting them know they would not be given the floor to speak but could lobby voters at their individual booths.

LaVan said NICHE would not endorse a candidate in the 2008 presidential election, but he has personally declared himself a supporter of Huckabee’s candidacy. The Home School Legal Defense Fund Association (HSLDA) has also endorsed Huckabee and encouraged home educators to support him. Michael Farris, chairman of the board and general counsel for HSLDA, was a keynote speaker at NICHE’s 2007 conference, though HSLDA has no official ties to NICHE, LaVan said.

LaVan said home-schoolers would play an active role in next year’s Iowa caucuses. “What I’ve found in the home school community is that the parents and the teenagers of home school families … are far more active and involved in presidential elections than you would see anywhere else,” he said. “I’ve seen a number of home school parents standing behind one candidate or another, and they get their families involved. It’s highly effective.”

Like Farris, LaVan said home-schooled teens would do much of the groundwork for a candidate. He mentioned a program called Generation Joshua, or Gen J, sponsored by HSLDA. “You get your teens and college-age students involved in politics, and they can get behind a socially conservative candidate and do what they can to support them,” such as making phone calls, going door knocking, or walking in parades, LaVan said. “They’ve been extremely effective. I know they’re actively coordinating things in Iowa. … I think it’s going to have a huge impact on the vote and what’s going on in Iowa. They have a proven track record.”

The McCain campaign is essentially finished, but McCain must continue acting like a real candidate until January to qualify for the federal matching funds he needs to pay off the campaign debt and operating costs for the next few months.

Vital organs and systems are shutting down — McCain's strategy in the Hawkeye State seems to be reverting to his 2000 Screw Iowa strategy as he spent the weekend in New Hampshire.

So terminal, on life support, with no hope for recovery.  Much like GOP cause celebre Terri Schiavo was.

Elsewhere on the GOP second tier — for that's really where McCain is now — Sam Brownback was seen in Iowa this weekend campaigning with Terri Schiavo's brother.  Which really says all one needs to know about Brownback's appeal.

The Quad Cities Times looks at the rivalry on the right between Brownback and Mike Huckabee. 

Conservatives can choose between the red meat served by Brownback and the balanced meal served by Huckabee. Each man hopes to emerge in Iowa as the top alternative to Mitt Romney, the candidate who leads in polls and fundraising.

Both very conservative, but very different, and there's not room for both after Ames.

Huckabee gets the quote of the weekend and shows actual compassionate conservatism in the Register:

An observer asked why Huckabee uses the term "illegal immigrant" instead of "alien."

Tom Tancredo, another Republican presidential candidate, has defended his use of "alien" on the campaign trail to describe people in the country illegally.

"Well, 'alien' sounds like they are from outer space," Huckabee said. "They are fellow human beings."

Tom Tancredo, on the other hand, continues to push the envelope of Know-Nothing nativism.  Last week he introduced legislation that would keep children of undocumented immigrants from becoming citizens.  Now he wants to deport children who already are citizens: "I still say: You deport the parents, the child goes with them," he said.

The Register has a twofer on the GOP and immigration: a story on how the issue is driving the race and a handy dandy chart on the candidates.

And finally, Jim Gilmore earns his biggest news day of the campaign by dropping out.  Any bets on who's next?  My money's on Duncan Hunter.