Iowa Independent was there with a video camera to record their campaign events.

To watch the speech of U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware click here.

To watch the speech of former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee click here.

“They wouldn’t even give a break in the middle of that hour-and-a-half debate. Any other debate we’ve had there’s been a break or two, usually two little breaks along the way,” Thompson said in a 15-minute interview with me on his campaign bus.

Later, in this session, Thompson sought to explain his 10 a.m. public start here, suggesting that he wisely used the hours before the 2-mile drive from the Super 8 to the Carroll Country Club where about 30 citizens showed up to hear him make a pitch for the presidency.

Here is Thompson:

First of all we had telephone interviews this morning in our room. We had briefings in our room. We got in last night from over in east Iowa. I don’t know what time we finally got to bed but it was late last night. We’ve been doing I don’t know how many events. We’re going to do 50 towns and communities. You can catch us sometimes where there is a gap there. But if you look at the overall schedule you’ll find it to be a very, very active one.

I don’t have anything to prove to anybody.

I mean, you know, I actually like to read a little bit along the way. The first thing I do when I walk out is get asked about the president’s news conference that he had this morning that I saw, and what’s happened with the other candidates and comments that they’ve made, and sometimes disasters that have happened in various communities and shootings and so forth. I read and talk to people about that. Talk to them in the home office. Get my plan for the day and the information I need for the day.

At another point in the interview, when he was asked to reflect on the bitter battle between Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, Thompson for some reason again sought to make his lemonade-on-the-porch personality into a selling point.

“Some people say I’m not a Type A personality and they’re right.” Thompson told me. “They want examples of me clicking my heels and things like that. That ain’t me. It wasn’t me in Tennessee when I got more votes than anybody in the history of Tennessee politics.”

In previous interviews, I have asked Thompson’s friend and fellow GOP presidential contender U.S. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former colleague U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, about this “Lazy Fred” business.

Harkin said Thompson appeared to be “bored” during his time in the Senate and earned a reputation for being lazy.

“That’s sort of the inside word,” Harkin said. “That’s what people are saying. I mean, people who know him better than I are saying that.”

Here the Q&A with McCain:

Iowa Independent: Just about every profile I’ve read on him says he’s lazy. That’s the knock on him. Is he lazy?

McCain: No. We’re very close friends. You know we sat next to other in the Senate. No, I certainly would not say that.

In a piece in The Politico, Roger Simon observed Thompson being, shall we say, less than eager, to engage in basic retails politics In Waverly the other day.

Anelia Dimitrova, the executive regional editor of The Waverly Democrat, told Simon that Thompson couldn’t even muster the ambition to make news in a town of 9,000 people.

Here is Simon in The Politico:

I sent an e-mail to Anelia Dimitrova, asking her about the private meeting she had with Thompson at the newspaper office. She e-mailed me back that Thompson “was so vague that I would be hard-pressed to write a story. Simply put, there is no news peg other than he came to the newsroom with his model wife and a beehive of staffers. When I asked him specifically what he would do as prez for farmers in Bremer County, he resorted to glittering generalities.”

During a blunt line of questioning in Carroll (but one that should hardly have been unexpected) Thompson seemed genuinely annoyed with me for bringing up the question about his reported overly easy-going ways — and he bordered on making the matter personal.

“You can’t put yourself in another man’s shoes, figure out well he got in this time that night so he ought to start this time the next morning in order to prove he’s more energetic,” Thompson told me. “That’s the kind of thing they used to say about Ronald Reagan and he always said, `They say hard work never hurt anybody but why take a chance?’”

Thompson, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee and accomplished actor, discussed the war in Iraq, his own campaign style, criticism of his admitted lack of "type A" personality, his chances against Hillary Clinton in a potential general election match-up and the recently held Des Moines Register GOP debate.

U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, a Thompson supporter, was present for the full interview, and the presidential hopeful's wife, Jeri, stood in for some of the session aboard a bus bearing the slogan: "Clear conservative choice: Hands down! Bus Tour."

The following is a transcript of the exchange with Thompson.

Iowa Independent: We aren't hearing too much on the war in Iraq from the Democratic side of the presidential race right now. Perhaps they feel it is going well. Do you think at the end of the day the Iraq war becomes a good issue for the Republicans?

Thompson: Yeah, I think it is going well from all those whose opinions I value who have come back from over there. We have very close friends of ours who have kids over there who have re-upped and we get reports back from them from time to time and things are going on the provinces, just something that hasn't been going on before.

We saw some of these atrocities I think in the last day or two day, al Qaeda torch hospitals or whatever they call them. That's indicative of what's been happening out there and people are sick and tired of it. And they're coming to our side. Some of the Sunni leadership is coming to our side.

They're reaching some arrangements at the local level that has not yet made its way to the politicians in Baghdad.

And that needs to happen but it doesn't mean a lot of good things aren't happening. Violence is down. Car bombings are down. Ramadan was much more peaceful than it has been in a long, long time.

So all indications are good. I was amazed the other night at the Iowa debate when they took Iraq and immigration off the table to start with.

I said to myself, if there had been some bad news out of Iraq it wouldn't have been off the table.

Iowa Independent: Was that last Des Moines Register debate at Iowa Public Television the worst-run debate you've ever been involved with, senator?

Thompson: I'll have to think for a minute because I've been involved in some pretty badly run debates.

I don't think the format serves the people well. It's an exchange of sound bites and then when they come in and get even more officious than usual.

They set the ground rules and tell the candidates, "it's take it or leave it."

They wouldn't even give a break in the middle of that hour-and-a-half debate. Any other debate we've had there's been a break or two, usually two little breaks along the way.

They said "no." I said, "Wait a minute, this is kind of unusual." They said, "Take it or leave it."

So that's the attitude they have. This is our deal. You have to dance to our tune and do it our way.

Then when they take that extra added step when they say now we're going to have a show of hands like we're a bunch of trained seals waiting for a fish to be thrown to them there are some things that ought to be even beneath the dignity of a presidential candidate. When I basically said, "No," it kind of broke them and showed it for what it was.

And now they're getting an awful lot of bad comments about it and I think richly deserved.

It was a poorly conceived deal and they would have been a whole lot better off if they would talk to some people in the process a little bit about what might make a better debate, instead of being so officious about it.

Iowa Independent: On the Democratic side of the presidential race U.S. Sen. Barack Obama has admitted in his book and in different speeches that not only has he done marijuana in his past but that he has had some experience with cocaine. His campaign's explanation is that the honesty, the forthright element of that, is good. Some people have been critical of it, suggesting that it might red carpet the notion of experimentation for kids. Do you have any thoughts on that, that this is out there in the dialogue and it's not just marijuana, it's cocaine?

Thompson: Well, it's hard to comment on somebody else's personal revelations without knowing all the circumstances involved.

Obviously, that's not a good example for kids and it's very unfortunate, but I imagine Obama thinks the same thing. I imagine that's his own opinion about it. I wish it hadn't happened. He probably wishes it hadn't happened.

The political effect of that is for people to decide.

He's like every other human being. You have to live with the consequences of your actions.

Iowa Independent: With the fighting between GOP candidates Mitt Romney (former Massachusetts governor) and Mike Huckabee (former Arkansas governor), do you see a dynamic at work here similar to the Democratic side in 2004 where you had (U.S.  Rep. Dick) Gephardt and (former Vermont Gov. Howard) Dean going at it and you had (U.S. Sen. John) Kerry emerge? You're just about as tall as Kerry. Do you see yourself playing that role?

Thompson: I think I'm ahead of where he was in the polls. I don't know. You just kinda got to follow your own game plan.

And, you know, my game plan is just to be who I am and what I am. It's a whole lot easier to remember. My positions on the issues are constants.

Some people say I'm not a Type A personality and they're right.

They want examples of me clicking my heels and things like that. That ain't me. It wasn't me in Tennessee when I got more votes than anybody in the history of Tennessee politics.

It's served me well all my life being who I am. A large part of what I am is that, you know, I don't mind telling it like it is.

Iowa Independent: You stayed in Carroll last night at the Super 8. Your first event started at 10 o'clock today. One of the knocks on you has been maybe that you're a little lazy. Why did you start your first event at 10 o'clock?

Thompson: First of all we had telephone interviews this morning in our room. We had briefings in our room. We got in last night from over in east Iowa. I don't know what time we finally got to bed but it was late last night. We've been doing I don't know how many events. We're going to do 50 towns and communities. You can catch us sometimes where there is a gap there. But if you look at the overall schedule you'll find it to be a very, very active one.

I don't have anything to prove to anybody.

I mean, you know, I actually like to read a little bit along the way. The first thing I do when I walk out is get asked about the president's news conference that he had this morning that I saw, and what's happened with the other candidates and comments that they've made, and sometimes disasters that have happened in various communities and shootings and so forth. I read and talk to people about that. Talk to them in the home office. Get my plan for the day and the information I need for the day.

You can't put yourself in another man's shoes, figure out well he got in this time that night so he ought to start this time the next morning in order to prove he's more energetic. That's the kind of thing they used to say about Ronald Reagan and he always said, `They say hard work never hurt anybody but why take a chance?'

Iowa Independent: If Hillary Clinton is the nominee and you are, do you take the South off the table? Are you just going to destroy her in the South?

Thompson: That's a little premature. I think that we're going to need somebody who is a solid conservative who can unite the country. I think that I would match up very, very well with her in that regard.

Iowa Independent: By the way I saw "Hunt for Red October" four times in the theater when it came out.

Thompson: That's more times than me.

Still, the numbers didn’t seem to be on former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson’s mind as he campaigned today in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

“We’re headed that way,” he said with a laugh when asked if he began his “Clear Conservative Choice: Hands Down” bus tour in eastern Iowa because he felt the recent endorsement of Iowa’s Fifth District Congressman Steve King had already locked up the Republican voters in that portion of the state. “We’re headed that way and we’re gonna be all over the state before we’re finished. Everybody’s got to start somewhere.”

The 100 or so people who braved thick fog to attend the rally at the Cedar Rapids Marriott said they were thankful for the opportunity to hear speak and answer questions.

“The others — who obviously joined this race much earlier — they’ve been here and I’ve heard them,” said Bill Davidsen of rural Linn County. “I’m still trying to decide who I will be caucusing for, but I think, at least after today, I’ve narrowed it between Thompson and [former Arkansas Gov. Mike] Huckabee.”

Davidsen, who said “family values” are his focus when deciding upon a candidate, believes the endorsements of both King and the National Right to Life will carry a lot of weight with Iowa Republicans.

“There are liberals who despise King,” he said. “That just makes us like him even more — the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Thompson, who presented a bit flat during an October campaign stop in Dubuque, was light on his feet today and joked with members of the audience even as he frequently paused to sip water, clear his throat or cough. The vast majority of his time was spent telling audience why he joined the race, but he still made time, at least with the press, for a few jabs at the competition.

“Governor Romney supported McCain-Feingold,” Thompson said. “He’s changed his position on that just like he has so many other things.”

Thompson, who was one of the chief architects of the election reform law, said while responding to an audience question that although he continues to support limits on campaign contributions, he feels the legislation did not live up to its intent, especially in the area of special interest groups. Thompson said that “in modern times” people have always agreed that it was appropriate to limit the amount of money given to politicians. Soft money, he added, was first put into use by President Bill Clinton and political consultant Dick Morris, but Republicans quickly followed suit. That prompted the need for reform, he said, so that the very rich and large corporations would not have undue influence in government.

“A lot of my Republican colleagues still have a hard time with it,” he said when an audience member asked him to explain his stance. “They don’t understand it and I appreciate that. But standing up, putting the government in the right place to do its job, to do things as best we can to minimize the temptation and the opportunity for corruption in large sums of money before somebody makes a decision on the donor is still a valid, solid, conservative concept I stand for.”

Thompson said he primarily supported the legislation because he felt the $1,000 campaign donation limit for individuals — a level that had been in place for many years — was too low. He told the audience that it was because of his amendment that the amount was doubled to the current limit of $2,300.

By that same token, he calls the provision in McCain-Feingold that limited contributions to some political groups to the same levels as individual contributions a mistake.

“That was an error,” he said. “I was wrong about that. I wouldn’t do that again.”

Fred Thompson is launcing a lengthy Iowa tour and stopped by Iowa City for a local talk radio appearance.  John Deeth joined the proceedings at Coralville’s Iowa River Power Company and has his live impressions.Thompson

Fred Thompson is launching a lengthy Iowa tour and stopped by  for a local talk radio appearance.  I joined the proceedings at the Iowa River Power Company.

10:53 and things are a bit behind schedule, but the radio folks are in place.  Fred Thompson is appearing at the highly scenic Iowa River Power Company.  We’re overlooking a dam and literally hundreds of geese.

It’s a little harder to get pledges of commitment out of Republicans than Democrats.  “We’ve got a secret ballot, the right of every American,” says county party co-chair Deb Thornton, teasing me about the differences between parties in caucus procedure.

Outgoing Iowa City council member Dee Vanderhoef is also uncommitted, and says there would be more registered independents and Republicans in Johnson County if the primary system for local offices were different.  Democratic primaries in Johnson County tend to be decisive for local offices.

State Rep. Sandy Greiner, whose district runs into Johnson County, is here. “People are going to be stunned” by Thompson’s showing in eastern Iowa, she says.  She was the first legislator to endorse Thompson.  “He’s consistent,” she says, without naming names.

“He didn’t wait until he was 50 years old to decide what his opinions were.  And he didn’t wait until he was running for office.”

“I understand as a public official that sometimes it’s necessary to change your position.  New information becomes available.  But I challenge anybody to tell me what new information has become available on the 2nd Amendment or on life.”

“I’m glad to have them in the fold,” Greiner says, again naming no names, “but I wonder how long they’ll be in the fold.”

11:13 and it seems Fred has stolen John Cougar Edwards’ Mellencamp CD.  Proceedings are beginning.  The introducer cites the Register debate (”He won it ‘hands down’”, he says, stretching the joke) and the Steve King endorsement.

The radio host starts with a horse race question and Fred instead says “what’s most important is for me to be myself” and hitting the same consistency theme.  He moves on to his Senate work , with a couple brief jokes about the acting.  “I never had an acting lesson, which you an tell from my work.”  “I’m not going to have any new wrinkles in terms of who I am and what I’ve done.”

“If we can’t make our country safe, nothing else counts.  With our worst enemies sitting across the table, who do we want representing us.  The answer to that question is who you want to elect President.”

Asked about his late entry, he says “I wasn’t late, everybody else was early” and draws applause, and adds that was the traditional time to announce.

A photographer from the campaign is wearing a button with the “Hands Down” slogan.  Fred continues with discussion of how the campaign season is too long.  Says he’s never lost an election, “most of my opponents have, and most of the pundits have never run.”

The radio host is asking about the leapfrogging states.  FDT: “An awful lot of folks have got things going on, they’ve got lives to live” and large numbers of people are still undecided.

“The job of the president is to be a leader and communicator, and to bring the American people along with his knowledge and information.”  Cites his work on the Intelligence Committee.  “There’s only two issues that are important: peace and prosperity.”  But then he goes on to cite the importance of appointing conservative judges.  “We’re bankrupt in the next generation and spending the Soc Sec surplus.  You can’t have everything all the time.”

“People who are serious about choosing a leader of the free world will not make their choice based on how many times someone visited Iowa.  That’s not what it’s all about.  Remember that we’re electing that person on our side of the table.”

Q and A from the audience. National Right to Life endorsement: Fred is “gratified” and talks at more length about the Steve King endorsement.  Jeri Thompson wasn’t introduced but she’s here.  “The RTL endorsement is very special to me, they’ve been watching me for a long time.”  Says he put term limits on himself when he went to the Senate.  “I was 100% the entire time I was there on a pro-life basis.”

Small business owner about taxes: “what can you do to help?”  Fred: “Cut Taxes.”  Applause.  He elaborates, but the two word version sums it up.  “The Democrats want the gov’t to gradually turn itself into a welfare state to transfer wealth.”  Says the depreciation schedule is “hopelessly outmoded.”  Says we need to fight to keep the Bush tax cuts.

Questioner, a med student: “the last thing I want to see is Hillary-care.”  Fred: “You’ve come to one good conclusion.” (sustained applause.)  “We have a health care cost problem, but we have the best heath care in the world.”  SO we can’t “throw the baby out.”  Turns the question to foreign policy, says we’re a victim of our blessings: “We’re a target because we’re number one.”

Back to health care: citing the importance of free markets.  “We need to rely on the market economy and make it more efficient and more open.”  Says health care has gotten to be a national problem (an unnamed dig at Romney’s state plan).

The slogan on the lit is “Consistent Conservative,” so both Fred and his supporters are sticking on message.  “Opening up the market will bring the prices down, and that’ll make it easier for more people to get insurance” (applause)

Crowd looks to be about 60.  “I don’t like mandates of any kind.  I don’t like people telling me what to do, unless they’ve got some real good reason for it.”

“With all due respect, sir”  — Fred interrupts: “I hate when a question starts like that.”  It’s national debt.  His first response: “Limit the bills Hillary Clinton could reduce to maybe one a year.”  That goes over well.  He gets more serious.  “It all gets back to one fundamental problem – the level of spending.  In all democracies, the number one problem is getting people to restrain themselves when they realize they’ve got the keys to their own treasury.”  Someone has to draw the line.  “It’s a moral issue as well as an economic issue.”  Says cutting defense spending would be irresponsible, and entitlements are unsustainable.

Social Security: he’s for private accounts with a government match.  “Let’s let the govt’s part be something that’s sustainable.”

11:52.  Last question, they say.  Guy in a cowboy hat asks about Native American issues.  Fred turns it around: “where do you think we’re falling short?”  Questioner talks again at some length.

Fred says he’s glad his consciousness has been raised and he’ll look into it.  The questioner must have mentioned Leonard Peltier because Thompson said Peltier was “guilty as charged.”

One more question, to move past the taste of the last one.  Energy independence.  Fred says we need to use the resources we have: oil and natural gas (without specifically saying ANWR), clean coal, and nukes.

Chad Murphy of Iowa City came to the event as a Fred backer.  “When it’s time to do the right thing, you can count on Fred to do the right thing” even if it’s unpopular.

Fred Thompson is launching a lengthy Iowa tour and stopped by Coralville for a local talk radio appearance.  John Deeth joined the proceedings at the Iowa River Power Company and has his live impressions.10:53 and things are a bit behind schedule, but the radio folks are in place.  Fred Thompson is appearing at the highly scenic Iowa River Power Company.  We’re overlooking a dam and literally hundreds of geese.

It’s a little harder to get pledges of commitment out of Republicans than Democrats.  “Weve got a secret ballot, the right of every American,” says county party co-chair Deb Thornton, teasing me about the differences between parties in caucus procedure.

Outgoing Iowa City council member Dee Vanderhoef is also uncommitted, and says there would be more registered independents and Republicans in Johnson County if the primary system for local offices were different.  Democratic primaries in Johnson County tend to be decisive for local offices.

State Rep. Sandy Greiner, whose district runs into Johnson COunty, is here. “People are going to be stunned” by Thompson’s showing in eastern Iowa, she says.  She was the first legislator to endorse Thompson.  “He’s consistent,” she says, without naming names.

“He didn’t wait until he was 50 years old to decide what his opinions were.  And he didn’t wait until he was running for office.”

“I understand as a public official that sometimes it’s necessary to change your position.  New information becomes available.  But I challenge anybody to tell me what new information has become avalable on the 2nd Amendment or on life.”

“Im glad to have them in the fold,”Greiner says, again naming no names, “but I wonder how long they’ll be in the fold.”

11:13 and it seems Fred has stolen John Cougar Edwards’ Mellencamp CD.  Proceedings are beginning.  The introducer ctes the Register debate (”He won it ‘hands down’”, he says, stretching the joke) and the STeve King endorsement.

The radio host starts with a horse race question and Fred instead says “what’s most important is for me to be myself” and hitting the same consistency theme.  He moves on to his Senate work , with a couple bief jokes about the acting.  “I never had an acting lesson, which you an tell from my work.”  “I’m not going to have any new wrinkles in terms of who I am and what I’ve done.”

“If we can’t make our country safe, nothing else counts.  WIth our worst enemies sitting across the table, who do we want representing us.  The answer to that question is who you want to elect President.”

Asked about his late entry, he says “I wasn’t late, everybody else was early” and draws applause, and adds that was the traditional time to announce.

A photographer from the campaign is wearing a button with the “Hands Down” slogan.  Fred continues with discussion of how the campaign season is too long.  Sas he’s never lost an election, “most of my opponents have, and most of the pundits have never run.”

The radio host is asking about the leapfrogging states.  FDT: “An awful lot of folks have got things going on, they’ve got lives to live” and large numbers of people are still undecided.

“The job of the president is to be a leader and communicator, and to bring the American people along with his knowledge and information.”  Cites his work on the Intelligence Committee.  “There’s only two issues that are important: peace and prosperity.”  But then he goes on to cite the importance of appointing conservative judges.  “We’re bankrupt in the next generation and spending the Soc Sec surplus.  You can’t have everything all the time.”

“People who are serious about choosing a leader of teh free world will not make their choice based on how many times someone visited Iowa.  That’s not what it’s all about.  Remember that we’re electing that person on our side of the table.”

Q and A from the audience.

National RIght to Life endorsement: Fred is “gratified” and talks at more length about the Steve King endorsement.  Jeri Thompson wasn’t introduced but she’s here.  “The RTL endorsement is very special to me, they’ve been watching me for a long time.”  Says he put term limits on himself when he went to the Senate.  “I was 100% the entire time I was there on a pro life basis.”

SMall business owner about taxes: “what can you do to help?”  Fred: “Cut Taxes.”  Applause.  He elaborates, but the two word version sums it up.  “The Democrats want the gov’t to gradually turn itself into a welfare state to transfer wealth.”  Says the depreciation schedule is “hopelessly outmoded.”  Says we need to fight to keep the Bush tax cuts.

Questioner, a med student: “the last thing I want to see is Hillary-care.”  Fred: “You’ve come to one good conclusion.’ (sustained applause.)  “We have a health care cost problem, but we have the best heath care in the world.”  SO we can’t “throw the baby out.”  Turns teh question to foreign policy, says we’re a victim of our blessings : “We’re a target because we’re number one.”

Back to health care: citing the importance of free markets.  “We need to rely on the market economy and make it more efficient and more open.”  Says health care has gotten to be a national problem (an unnamed dig at Romney’s state plan).

The slogan on the lit is “Consistent Conservative,” so both Fred and his supporters are sticking on message.  “Opening up the market will bring the prices down, and that’ll make it easier for more people to get insurance” (applause)

Crowd looks to be about 60.  “I don’t like mandates of any kind.  I don’t like people telling me what to do, unless they’ve got some real good reason for it.”

“With all due respect, sir”  — Fred interrupts: “I hate when a question starts like that.”  It’s national debt.  His first response: “Limit the bills Hillary Clinton could reduce to maybe one a year.”  That goes over well.  He gets more serious.  “It all gets back to one fundamental problem – the level of spending.  In all democacies, the number one problem is getting people to restrain themselves when they realize they’ve got the keys to their own treasury.”  Someone has to draw the line.  “It’s a moral issue as well as an economic issue.”  Says cutting defense spending would be irresponsible, and entitlements are unsustainable.

Social Security: he’s for private accounts with a government match.  “Let’s let the govt’s part be something that’s sustainable.”

11:52.  Last question, they say.  Guy in a cowboy hat asks about Native American issues.  Fred turns it around: “whee do you think we’re falling short?”  Questioner talks again at some length.

Fred says he’s glad his conscousness has been raised and he’ll look into it.  The questioner must have mentioned Leonard Peltier because Thmpson said Peltier was “guilty as charged.” 

One more question, to move past the last one.  Energy independence.  Fred says we need to use the resources we have: oil and natural gas (without specifically saying ANWR), clean coal, and nukes.

Chad Murphy of Iowa City came to the event as a Fred backer.  “When it’s time to do the right thing, you can count on Fred to do the right thing” even if it’s unpopular.

Iowans for AIDS Action is a project undertaken by many people throughout the state, said Kaytee Riek, a grassroots organizer. Members include Iowans living with HIV/AIDS, health care providers, people of faith, concerned citizens and students. The group aims, according to Riek, to force presidential candidates to not only recognize that AIDS, at home and abroad, is a major crisis, but something they can address. The group expects — and has had at least two candidates provide — comprehensive plans as to how candidates will respond to the crisis if they become president.

“We have regular folks — volunteers — who go to events for the various presidential candidates,” she said. “They go to the events, raise this issue and ask questions. They try to make sure, for example that the presidential candidates support $50 billion dollars over five years for for the Center for Disease Control’s Global AIDS Program.”

That particular goal is something that all the Democratic presidential candidates have all agreed to support.

“Six months ago, none of them knew if they were going to support it,” Riek said. “But they do now. That’s why we go out to the candidates and raise these issues.”

The group has received full plans from both former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. They’ve also gathered signatures on a pledge to commit the $50 billion over five years from New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd. Although no Republican presidential hopefuls have signed the pledge or written a detailed plan, Riek said there has still been progress.

“When we started out, we’d go ask… for instance, [Massachusetts] Gov. [Mitt] Romney a question about Global AIDS,” she said. “We’d tell him that Global AIDS is a major crisis, especially to our national security because it destablizes regions. This is one way we can turn sentiment toward America — to show that we are a generous country as well as a strong country.”

Riek said after giving a brief summary of the problem and how it can impact our nation, volunteers then ask for the monetary commitment.

“The first time we asked that question,” Riek said, “Romney’s answer was something along the lines of ‘I don’t know much about that program,’” she said. “That’s surprising considering President George W. Bush started the initial program in 2003. We are going to spend $6 billion dollars this year on that program.

“Now, when we ask Gov. Romney that same question, he has stopped saying that he hasn’t heard of the program and that he doesn’t know much about it. Granted, his answer could be better, but he is saying that [it] is important to continue the program even if he will not commit to the $50 billion over 5 years. He wants to continue and expand upon the existing program and that’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain have both agreed to maintain treatment for one-third of AIDS-infected people around the world. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is similar to Romney in that he had initially not heard about the program, but is now willing to say the program should be expanded and continued.

“I went to go talk to [former Tennessee Sen.] Fred Thompson last week,” Riek said. “Two of us went and asked about the global AIDS crisis and if he would commit to treat one-third of people around the world in clinical needs. His answer was the shortest answer I’ve ever heard from a candidate in my life. The answer was, ‘I’ve heard of the program. Don’t know much about it.’ And, that was his whole answer. He’s new to the game and hasn’t been in Iowa very much, but he’s got a long way to go before he understands and recognizes that this is important.”

Educating and informing the candidates, Riek said, is a job that’s made easier by the fact that, for the most part, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is not a social hot-button issue.

“President Bush — the ultimate social conservative — is the one that got us the first $15 billion dollars,” she said. “One of the things that can be challenging with the Global AIDS program — and one thing that people on the ground will often criticize — is that one-third of prevention funding has to go to abstinence-only education. I think that needs to change, but it is there right now. It’s there because President Bush and Republicans in Congress want to keep it there.”

Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” is planning a conference in California at the end of November, just before World AIDS Day and has invited all the presidential candidates. Clinton has already agreed to attend and several others are working to rearrange their schedules so they can attend.

“[Warren] is part of the social conservative evangelical movement,” Riek said. “And he’s holding a conference where he is inviting people from across the aisle to talk about something that supersedes politics — something that’s important beyond Republican versus Democrat. I think people in general realize that. We can nit-pick the edges of the program, but, what it comes down to, is that funding for Global AIDS is good and there aren’t many people in this country who are going to say that it is bad.”

Prayer Vigils Call for Comprehensive Plans

As a part of their public awareness and candidate “bird-dog” campaign, Iowans for AIDS Action will be holding five candlelight vigils on the night of Tuesday, Nov. 27. The vigils in Des Moines, Cedar Falls, Davenport, Iowa City and Decorah will feature people living with HIV, as walls as pastors and community leaders, while targeting presidential hopefuls who have not completed a comprehensive plan to fight AIDS.

“Christians in Iowa care about important issues of justice, like fighting AIDS at home and abroad,” said Bishop Phillip Hougen of the Southeast Iowa Lutheran Church Synod, who plans to speak at the Iowa City vigil.

In Des Moines, the vigil will take place outside the Huckabee Headquarters, located at 6th and Locust. Participants should gather at 6 p.m. The Davenport vigil will be held at 1416 W. 16th Street, outside Clinton’s headquarters. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. In Iowa City, the vigil will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 320 E. College, and will then march to the offices of Clinton and Giuliani. The Decorah event also begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be held on the campus of Luther College.

The Cedar Falls event will be held on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa, outside Maucker Union. It begins at 5:30 p.m. and all the presidential candidates have been invited to attend.

“The AIDS crisis claims the lives of 3 million people a year, and treatment costs less than $100 per patient per year around the world,” said Riek. “People are dying on waiting lists for AIDS drugs in this country. We need the candidates to recognize that the unnecessary death of millions can be prevented. It is our moral responsibility to address this.”

“We are thrilled and honored,” said Thompson’s Iowa Campaign Director Bob Haus in a phone interview. “We just couldn’t be happier. This reinforces that the senator’s 100 percent pro-life record has been recognized by the National Right to Life. We are simply honored to have an endorsement at that level.”

The endorsement is the first Thompson has garnered from a national social conservative group — a voting bloc that was credited with President George W. Bush’s presidential victories and that is being heavily courted by all the hopefuls in the Republican field.

“Our endorsement is a testament to Senator Thompson’s long-standing pro-life record, his commitment to unborn children and our belief in his ability to win,” said Dr. Wanda Franz, president of National Right to Life.

At the end of the day, when faced with a field of Republican candidates that all have strong — if not perfect — anti-abortion voting records, the final decision may come down to exactly what Franz outlined: Endorsing the person perceived to be most viable in the 2008 general election. In the press release issued by the national organization this morning the group touted Thompson’s electability while taking a swipe at rival Rudy Giuliani: “Since announcing his candidacy in September, Fred Thompson has run second only to pro-abortion candidate Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination in the overwhelming majority of national polls. As pro-lifers throughout the nation begin to unite behind his candidacy, he will be well positioned to win the nomination and the presidency.”

The endorsement comes despite an early November appearance on Meet the Press in which Thompson refused full support of a long-term Republican National Platform plank calling for a human life amendment, both his campaign and National Right to Life point to his commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that put an end to state control and declared abortion a constitutional right. Since 1976, three years after that landmark ruling, the Republican National Platform has included language supporting a human life amendment. The focus has since been expanded to support the belief that the 14th Amendment, which includes the right of equal protection under the law, extends to fetuses.

“Before Roe v. Wade, states made those decisions,” Thompson said when questioned by host Tim Russert about the platform. “I think people ought to be free at state and local levels to make decisions that even Fred Thompson disagrees with. That’s what freedom is all about. And I think the diversity we have among the states, the system of federalism we have where power is divided between the state and the federal government is, is, is — serves us very, very well. I think that’s true of abortion. I think Roe v. Wade hopefully one day will be overturned, and we can go back to the pre-Roe v. Wade days.”

Thompson went on to say in that interview that he does not favor “criminalizing” the taking of human life through abortion. Critics of the opinions expressed by Thompson have pointed to these statements as proof that he is soft on abortion. Kim Lehman, president of Iowa Right to Life, said that when she listened to that interview, she heard a stance that falls into step with the state and national organization.

“What I heard him saying — we always want to protect women and he didn’t want to criminalize the woman,” she said by phone this morning. “I don’t think, even in the history of abortion laws in the states, that we criminalized the woman. It was always the abortionist. That’s my understanding of his comments.

“Fred Thompson has a 100 percent pro-life voting record and that he wants to protect women would fall in line with all pro-life activity that we do. We do want to protect women. It’s about the woman and the baby. Women are harmed by abortion.”

Iowa Right to Life and the other 49 state affiliate organizations now have a choice to make. They can either support the national organization’s endorsement of Thompson or they can remain neutral. Lehman said the decision from the Iowa group will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, but stopped short on speculating where the members might fall.

“I really think it will come down to a majority vote,” she said. “I have no idea because we live in a caucus state. In a caucus state, everyone is pretty active in politics and so, typically, board members work and volunteer for their choice of pro-life candidates on an individual basis. So, I don’t know where people are on their individual support of candidates.

“I think at this point — as close as we are to the caucuses — [the decision] is not going to be on a personal decision level. It’s going to be on a practical level on being able to take the executive branch in the final election. So, it’s going to be an interesting discussion.”

Haus said he was aware of the discussions that would now take place within the state organization, but rejected use of the word lobby when it came to how those decision makers would be approached.

“We have close communications with a lot of the board members,” he said. “I think a lot of us in the Iowa operation consider many of them friends. Apart from presidential politics, we’ve been in the trenches, on the issue and in the political battles for years together. Lobby might be a strong word. Reinforcement. Humble requests. Among that board there are some people who support other candidates and we are very respectful of that, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t think our guy is the best guy.”

The 30-second spot, entitled “Stand By Us,” describes Clinton’s efforts to pass universal health care in the 1990s and her work in relation to the Children’s Health Insurance Program — an expansion of which was recently vetoed by President George W. Bush despite Republican lawmakers such as Iowa’s own Sen. Chuck Grassley calling on him to approve the bipartisan measure. Although the U.S. Senate passed the measure with a veto-proof majority, the House vote was much closer.

]]> http://iowaindependent.com/1220/clinton-launches-health-care-ad-in-wake-of-presidential-veto/feed 0 http://iowaindependent.com/1217/obama-and-thompson-heavyweight-doubleheader-staged-in-coralville http://iowaindependent.com/1217/obama-and-thompson-heavyweight-doubleheader-staged-in-coralville#comments Thu, 04 Oct 2007 12:14:30 +0000 T.M. Lindsey http://iowaindependent.com/1217/obama-and-thompson-heavyweight-doubleheader-staged-in-coralville Two political forces descended upon Iowa and nearly collided Tuesday night, as Mother Nature responded with a torrential downpour, followed by two tornado warnings in Coralville. Due to the possibility of inclement weather, Obama’s campaign organizers moved their scheduled event from S.T. Morrison Park to the Marriott hotel, where GOP candidate Fred Thompson was scheduled to speak earlier in the day.

Opposing stages for the battle of the political superstars had been set. Standing in the right corner, former Republican Tennessee senator and “Law and Order” television star Fred Thompson, who weighed in on security, unity, and prosperity, while sporting his campaign slogan, “United by Our Core Beliefs” on a background banner. His opponent, standing in the left corner, Democrat Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois weighed in on foreign policy while standing tall behind a podium brandishing the “Judgment to Lead” motif of his latest tour.

The Thompson event was held in a large conference room, where an estimated 100 people gathered, primarily comprised of an older, homogenous crowd who appeared to be getting their first glimpse of Thompson. Rob Thomsen, a hotel guest from Baltimore, Md., took advantage of the Thompson pit stop. “We don’t see this kind of thing in Maryland,” Thomsen said. “I like Thompson,” said Thomsen. “I really like his charisma.” When pushed further as to what issues drew him to Thompson, Thomsen shrugged his shoulders, paused, and replied, “I like his energy, and I’m more of a middle-of-the-road guy.”The Obama event, scheduled to begin two hours after Thompson’s gig, was held in the hotel’s main ballroom further down the hall. As Thompson attendees began filing out of the hotel, their paths crossed those of young-looking Obama volunteers, who had arrived early to set up for the later event. The scene in the hotel lobby was reminiscent of a scene in the film, “The Graduate,” in which a group of elderly patrons exit through the revolving door as a group of younger guests simultaneously enter through the other side of the door. The setting is the famed Ambassador Hotel: the same hotel in which presidential candidate Robert Kennedy was assassinated the year after the film’s release.

The Obama event packed in roughly 1500 people, outpacing Thompson 15-1, but given the Democrat to Republican ratio in the “Peoples’ Republic of Johnson County,” the crowd size was proportionally equal, thus a draw.

Local endorsements were showcased before each of the presidential contenders showcased their political endorsements before he stepped into his respective corner of the ring. While Rep. Sandy Greiner, R-Keota, joined Thompson’s corner, Obama’s corner featured Rep. Bob Dvosky, D-Coralville, former Iowa House Democratic Leader Dick Meyers, and former advisor to President John F. Kennedy Ted Sorensen.

Before Greiner introduced Thompson, she took a moment to explain her reasoning for supporting Thompson. “At an age when most people are thinking about retiring and going golfing or fishing, Fred Thompson volunteered to live his life in a fish bowl,” Greiner said. “And we’ve all seen what happens to people that try and lead our country, they have no privacy at all. He saw a void and was willing to step forward and sacrifice his privacy and the privacy of his own family to lead our country.” Greiner cited the actor/politician’s experience, commitment and conviction as the main reasons for her endorsement.

On the other hand, Sorensen, who introduced Obama, cited judgment as the primary criterion for a president, before drawing parallels between Kennedy and Obama. “Judgment is the single most important quality in a president of the United States,” Sorensen said. “Kennedy had judgment, Obama has judgment.” Sorensen, age 79, who had to be helped up the stage, had not lost a step and came out swinging: “I would first like to thank these people for helping me up to the podium. My eyesight is not so good, but my vision is better than the president of the United States.”

Ted Sorensen gives audience mini-lecture over Cuban-Missile Crisis before introducing Obama

Ding! Ding!

Both candidates have taken great pains to paint themselves as “outsiders” who are running against politics as usual. Thompson, having taken a hiatus form D.C. to pursue his television acting career, was the first to step into the ring, although, to the chagrin of some of the crowd, he arrived 50 minutes late. “Our nation is at a crossroads in many respects, and we’re going to have to make some decisions with which way we’re going to go in our country,” he said. “Our opponents would like to take us down the road of more government, more bureaucracy, and more complications. They want bigger government, more taxes, more spending, more regulations and more bureaucracy.”

Obama — who, ironically, works in D.C. — has been campaigning against Washington, where he hopes to return in Jan. 2009 wielding a new title. Dogged by the experience question on the campaign trail, Obama has counter-punched with the notion that he has enough experience in D.C. to know that things need to change. He threw particularly sharp swings at Congress, especially Democrats, whom he said had been duped by the Bush administration to authorize the war in Iraq. “But the conventional thinking in Washington has a way of buying into stories that make political sense even if they don’t make practical sense. We were told that the only way to prevent Iraq from getting nuclear weapons was with military force,” Obama said.

“Some leading Democrats echoed the Administration’s erroneous line that there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda,” Obama continued, taking a few jabs at his Democratic rivals who voted to authorize the war in Iraq. “We were counseled by some of the most experienced voices in Washington that the only way for Democrats to look tough was to talk, act and vote like a Republican.”

With the D.C. insiders against the ropes, Obama pulled no punches as he continued to strike out at the entrenched status quo of Washington. “And the conventional thinking today is just as entrenched as it was in 2002. This is the conventional thinking that measures experience only by the years you’ve been in Washington, not by your time spent serving in the wider world. This is the conventional thinking that has turned against the war, but not against the habits that got us into the war in the first place – the outdated assumptions and the refusal to talk openly to the American people.”

After pummeling his message into the ground, Obama turned to a message of hope. “I’m not running for President to conform to Washington’s conventional thinking – I’m running to challenge it,” Obama said. I’m not running to join the kind of Washington groupthink that led us to war, that says that we can’t tell the American people what we think on big issues – I’m running for President to change this country. And I’m going to tell the American people where I stand.”

Thompson and Obama’s notions on the changing role of the Constitution differed as well, in particular how they would change its application. Thompson, a former federal prosecutor on and off the screen, argued that we need to return to a more limited government. “Those old fellas knew that you can’t concentrate too much power at the federal level,” Thompson said. “Not all solutions for our problems can be solved at the federal level. A government big enough and powerful enough to give us everything is big enough and powerful enough to take everything away from us.”

On the flip side, Obama argued that the Constitution has been exploited by the Bush administration, and that it needs to be returned to the people. “These last few years we’ve seen an unacceptable abuse of power at home. The Constitution is treated like a nuisance,” Obama said. “We’ve paid a heavy price for having a President whose priority is expanding his own power. We get shifting spin, secret task forces, secret budgeting, slanted intelligence, and the shameful smearing of people who speak out against the President’s policies. It’s time for us to stand up and tell George Bush that the government in this country is not based on the whims of one person. The government is of the people, by the people and for the people.”