cross-posted at MyDD and Daily Kos

I decided to write this diary when I learned that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton each have more than 30 field offices in Iowa.

After January 3, we will see whether campaigns with the most field offices did better in the counties where rivals had field organizers and volunteers working without the visibility of an office.

More information than you probably wanted to know is after the jump.

I have listed the counties in descending order, based on the number of state delegates they will assign on the Democratic side. I took the numbers from this post by Drew Miller, who calculated how many state delegates each Iowa county would contribute to the 2,500 total. [UPDATE: I corrected the delegate totals for a few counties after hearing from Drew Miller.]

I also give the 2004 caucus results for each county. Those numbers come from this table on the Des Moines Register’s website. The results reflect the percentage of county delegates assigned to the various presidential candidates (not the percentage of raw votes each one received in the county).  

Check THIS out!  A friend just sent this my way.  Apparently Greenpeace did this… What a great way to turn up the pressure on a recalcitrant Representative. Cartooning Against Climate Change!  Well done.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QCTPGOzhUTE 

Call Boswell yourself, at 515-282-1909 and ask him to lead us toward a new energy policy that benefits all Iowans!   

Come on, Steve King, jump in against Tom Harkin! You are clearly thinking about it:

http://www.mydd.com/story/2007…

Harkin would trounce King. We wouldn't pick up the 5th CD, but almost any other Republican would be an improvement on King. Getting that bigot out of Congress would take his megaphone away.

In related news, I saw a Rathje bumper sticker in Des Moines the other day. That's a first.

Dear Iowa (And America),

I am sitting here on my computer in thinking of you. It may sound ridiculous because I’m only 14, but I care more about you and everything you do than anything else in the world. You are not an average state but I can’t change who you are and that’s why you’re so important to me. You see, you have a very important decision to make by January 3rd about a very special someone. I can beg with you and plead with you but in the end it’s up to you. You are getting tremendous pressure from all sides but let me just make a plea to you to pick the right special someone. I am talking of course about the next President of the United States.

Give me a chance.

Have you seen the headlines?

The squabble to be first in deciding the nation’s fate is intensifying. Early states are cleverly inching their primaries in a race to secure voting influence for their citizens. By the end of February, we’ll know who the presidential finalists are before more than half the nation gets a chance to vote, let alone meet the candidates. Sound Fair?

Check out the primary schedule.

The heavily frontloaded primary schedule does all of America a disservice. Leaving the power to decide who the next president of the America can be to a handful of people is just not right. The demographic make up of all the early primary state, even combined, does not accurately represent the American population. For instance, isn’t New Hampshire the third wealthiest state in the nation?

With less than a month left, there seems like there’s no hope. The Washington Post reports that the American people are being tempted by pessimism, and are losing faith in our political system. But, not to fear.

Register to host a caucus at www.nationalcaucus.com and get involved.

It seems like there’s no hope but to accept the circumstances. However, I came across this website, the National Presidential Caucus, that looks to give voters a fair chance to voice their opinions before the primaries kick off. It’s not a national primary or anything like that, don’t let the name mislead you.

Here’s how it works:

1) Post your caucus online

2) Meet offline with some friends, neighbors, whomever to discuss candidates and issues

3) Post your results from your discussions online

It’s as simple as that. It’s really just an effort to encourage and empower civic engagement and voter opinions. So why not…

How can we claim to go across seas to build a democracy, when our own political system at home is suffering? Get involved. sign up to host a caucus in your neighborhood today.

Today in Waterloo, Congressman Bruce Braley is to endorse John Edwards for President.

“Today, I’m proud to endorse John Edwards for president,” said Braley.

“Throughout this campaign, on issue after issue, John has proposed bold ideas to end the power of special interests in Washington and restore our government to the American people.  John is the only Democratic candidate who grew up in rural America, and he has most specific, most progressive and most far-reaching ideas.  I truly believe he is the best Democratic candidate to lead us to victory in 2008. With his leadership, I believe we can make his vision of One America a reality.”

Congressman Braley is the first of three Democratic Iowa Congressman to announce an endorsement for President. This key endorsement builds on the support Edwards continues to gain in the state. As href=”http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/12/2/221148/539″>Jonathan Singer suggests:

First off, this could be the big piece of news in the statewide media Tuesday, and perhaps more importantly it could prompt the national media to remember Edwards, who they have been perhaps too quick to forget given their focus on the scuffles between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. What’s more, a Braley endorsement could bring some of the organizational support and expertise that helped put Braley in Congress last fall. All in all, tomorrow should be a good day for the Edwards campaign.

John Edwards is a busy person lately. Speeches, Interviews, Endorsements, Policy Statements, Presidential Forums — where does he find the energy!

Could it be he is driven to win? Could it be he knows America needs a Fighter in Washington who will speak for us the American People?

It is a Fight he’s been waging all his life, in court rooms, against Corporate interests, and Winning for average folks like us. Now John Edwards is primed and ready to take on those same Corporate Interests in Washington DC, and Fight for OUR Interests again — because “America Belongs to Us” the American People!

“America needs a president who will fight for the American people every day, not defend a broken system. America does not belong to corrupt Washington lobbyists or corporations – it belongs to us.

It’s time we took our Country back! It’s time to support John Edwards.

If the media and early states get their way, the presidential nomination finalists will be decided by the end of February before more than half the nation gets a chance to voice their opinions. Sound fair?

The stakes are high in the next election and we can’t sit idly. Join the National Presidential Caucus (NPC) effort to confront the heavily compressed primary schedule we’re facing today. NPC is hosting a National Caucus Day on Dec. 7^th and we’d love if you’d join us in organizing caucuses in your area!

www.nationalcaucus.com

To encourage voters to form opinions before the early primary states and the media determine who the leading candidates will be, NPC is asking people like you to host caucuses in their communities. It’s a great way to get your candidate and issue out there.
Here’s how it works:
-Post a caucus on the website
-Meet offline on December 7^th to talk about issues and candidates that matter TO YOU
-Post your results on our website with all the other caucuses from across the nation

  Hosting a caucus is as simple as getting some friends, family, or whomever you want together. It's really easy to do!

What if every state's caucus and primary were weighted equally? I don't know about you, but I'd call that democracy. 

Richard Doak, a retired editor and columnist for the Des Moines Register, wrote an interesting piece on presidential endorsements in the Sunday paper. I encourage you to click the link and read it. He wrote the endorsement editorials for 20 years.

My only quibble is that I think Doak exaggerates the importance of the Register's endorsement of John Edwards four years ago. The Register published the endorsement eight days before the caucuses. I was working my precinct hard for John Kerry and started noticing a surge in support for Edwards more than a month before then. I distinctly remember calling my field organizer in mid-December to tell him that Edwards was gaining a lot of strength and would probably be viable. He said, “I know.” The field organizers were hearing the same thing from all of their captains.

The endorsement certainly gave Edwards good publicity, and probably convinced some leaners that he was a viable candidate, but it was by no means the spark that helped him finish a close second to Kerry. 

Doak describes the editorial board's endorsement process and notes that there are two endorsements he regrets: choosing Bill Bradley over Al Gore and George W. Bush over John McCain in 2000. I'm cutting the Register some slack on the first one, because I too made the mistake of supporting Bradley over Gore. I even sent him money.

But endorsing Bush over McCain? That was gutless. Doak admits that the editorial board almost endorsed McCain, but balked because they were charmed by Bush and anyway, McCain had written off Iowa.

The composition of the Register editorial board is different from four years ago. I wouldn't be too surprised to see them go with the establishment choice, Hillary Clinton, like they went for Bush as the establishment candidate in 2000.

Then again, maybe they will try to mix things up by picking a longshot, like they did in 2004. In that case my money would be on the Register backing Joe Biden, although Bill Richardson might also be a possibility.

What do you think? 

Campaigns are supposed to be fun. Debates are supposed to be informative. Life is suppose to be fair. Our kids are suppose to have a better life than we have.

Wouldn't be great if Life were true to the script? Wouldn't it be great if people could pull together to solve complex problems? Wouldn't it be great if our Leaders actually had the Courage of their Convictions — and actually tried to Lead?

At least one candidate is trying to do just that, Lead America to its full Potential. But it's truly something that he can't do alone. The goal of a Better Life for All Americans, really takes “All Americans” to get involved and and stand up for what's right.

John Edwards wants to “shake up Washington”, so that it actually works for the People again, because it's the right thing to do. The Issues ahead are serious. They will take serious leadership, and teamwork to ultimately solve.

Please take a few minutes, to catch up with John Edwards News round up, covering the man trying to make that real difference, for real people:

The Good News:

There's Finally a Senate Bill in Committee, that hopes to do something about Global Warming!  The bill America's Climate Security Act of 2007, sponsors Senators Joe Lieberman and John Warner.

The bill would impose emission limits on electric utility, transportation, and manufacturing industries.

Between 2005 and 2012: The bill caps emissions at 5200 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, the estimated levels during 2005

The Bad News:

The Lieberman Bill does NOT go FAR enough, FAST enough, and is a “fig leaf” offering to Industry, which seeks to replace a competing Carbon Cap Bill that does what's scientifically needed …

The original Carbon Cap bill Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2007, sponsors by Senators Bernie Sanders and Barbara Boxer.

Is this just more “Business as Usual” in Congress?
…

The Problem: The USA has maxed out our Credit Cards, tapped out our friends for loans, and will soon have to start “selling the farm” to meet our Debts.
 

 http://www.cbo.gov/f…

LA Times

$1.3 Trillion in Deficits Forecast Over Decade

By Joel Havemann, Times Staff Writer
Jan 25, 2005

The [Congressional Budget Office] CBO's annual report on the budget outlook foresees a deficit of $400 billion this year. It also forecast a cumulative deficit of $1.3 trillion from 2005 to 2014, an increase of nearly 60% from the  CBO's $861-billion estimate of just four months ago.

So, what happened in your city or town today?

In my corner of the world one of the winning candidates for city council spent $38 on his re-election bid. He saved yard signs from the last campaign:

http://www.desmoines…

The Windsor Heights race was a poor man’s competition of who could spend the least amount. Peterson won at $38. “I saved all my stuff from last time and reused it.” Next was Markley at $65, who forewent the yard signs and stuck to fliers and door knocking. Carlson came in third at $330, and Butz – coincidentally – came out the winner, barely squeezing by the campaign disclosure threshold of $750. She filed papers Monday. They were not on the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board Web site Tuesday.

The other incumbent running decided not to do yard signs. Looks like that was a mistake–the two candidates with the most yard signs won by a pretty healthy margin. 

I love how the Edwards campaign is getting so bold and so…well…I guess it could be described as snarky. As others have said before me, the truth can never be an attack, but the truth can sure hurt. Here’s another example.

Now John Edwards has asked Senator Clinton to answer 5 simple yes or no questions on Iraq. Should be easy, right? It also should be something a presidential candidate should be ready to do. Will she do it?

A few posts down I mentioned the rumors that Sam Brownback will endorse Rudy Giuliani, which I think would be foolish.

Yesterday I saw someone we know who worked in the Brownback HQ over the summer. She said that most of his Iowa staff have moved over to John McCain's office. 

Is activity picking up in the McCain campaign in Iowa? It would be interesting to see if he makes a late play for a second or third-place finish here.

Welcome to your Saturday night Edwards Evening News edition, where we’re working to save the planet!  I am delighted about tonight’s news, which includes:

• Dr. Helen Caldicott says vote for JRE!
• Edwards Opposes Peru Free Trade Agreement
• Edwards visits 99th Iowa County
• Media Shocker: the Washington Post Has a Decent Story on Edwards!

All this and more below the fold…

For the first time in history, Presidential candidates' wives from both parties sat on a panel together at the Women's Conference 2007. Democrats Elizabeth Edwards and Michelle Obama and Republicans Jeri Thompson, Ann Romney, and Cindy McCain shared their views and experiences of being a candidate's wife with an audience of 14,000.

Elizabeth Edwards: “Live Deliberately”

de3c”

The ad, entitled “Only One,” details a hostage situation in Iraq that then-Congressman Richardson was called upon to defuse. In the 60-second spot, Bill Barloon, the late David Daliberti, and his wife Kathy Daliberti praise Richardson for obtaining the release of the two men from Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in July 1995.

From over at MyDD:

Today The Storm Lake Times, a paper based in northwestern Iowa, endorsed Joe Biden for president. It's the first endorsement of any paper, let alone one from Iowa, of this presidential cycle. The editorial movingly cites Biden's personal story and his foreign affairs expertise as key reasons for their endorsement. 

Is it just me, or does John Edwards sometimes remind anyone else of your typical superhero?  You know, fighting for the little guy, saving democracy, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?  Well, OK, maybe not that last one, but the man is inspiring.

Today, John gave a speech in New Hampshire that was all about saving democracy.  After years of having politicians tell us that the best we can expect is incremental change within our broken system, it is quite astounding to hear someone actually tell the truth about what is wrong with our system, and propose major reforms to fix it. To me, having the courage to confront our big problems and offer real solutions makes John a real hero, despite the conspicuous lack of spandex in his wardrobe.

Welcome to your lucky Saturday night Edwards Evening News! Tonight’s major headline: Elizabeth Edwards finds four leaf clover in Iowa!  I guess it wouldn’t be any fun if the other campaigns just packed up and went home right now, but that pretty much seals the deal. John Edwards wins in ’08, thanks to unusual Iowa flora!

Please follow below the fold for more news.

The 30^th Annual Senator Tom Harkin Steak Fry was Sizzling Hot!

Over 12,000 Iowa Democrats from across the state gathered to meet the Democratic Presidential candidates. The Harkin Steak Fry is a historic event that both people on the ground and netrooters participate in.  John Deeth of the Iowa Independent offers an interesting look at previous Steak Frys noting some of the most memborable moments.

Bloggers on DailyKos “virtually” participated in the Steak Fry on a LiveBlog diary:

In the last Democratic Presidential debate in Iowa, the Governor said it best:

“You know, I think that Senator Obama does represent change. Senator Clinton has experience. Change and experience: With me, you get both.”

Today we released a new television ad in Iowa called Offers. The spot
  emphasizes that Bill Richardson is the only candidate in the race who brings
  both change and experience to the Presidential race despite the fact that other
  candidates may be borrowing the phrase.

The ad recounts the Governor’s unparalleled experience and record of achievement in foreign policy. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize four times and recently helped negotiate the shutdown of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Our new ad also reinforces that Governor Richardson is the only major candidate with a detailed plan to get all US troops out of Iraq, leaving behind no residual  forces.

The latest Iowa poll by the American Research Group shows Governor Richardson at 13%, solidly in contention several months before the state's caucuses.

I put this up recently at MyDD and Daily Kos, but for some reason forgot to cross-post here.

I am writing one front-page post at MyDD every Tuesday in support of John Edwards as part of their “unofficial candidate blogger” series (two Clinton supporters post on Mondays, two Edwards supporters post on Tuesdays, two Obama supporters post on Wednesdays, and a Biden, Dodd and Richardson supporter each post on Thursdays).

This was my first piece in that series.  It's a bit of personal narrative about how I came to be supporting Edwards, and it includes links to a lot of other good diaries about the candidate and his policies.

It's long, so I put it after the jump. I welcome your feedback, and I encourage you to put up diaries telling us why you are supporting your favorite in the race, if you have already decided. 

Jen O’Malley Dillon is our campaign’s Iowa State Director – she posted this wrap up on the John Edwards blog and I wanted to make sure to share it with the Bleeding Heartland community!  Thank you for following along with us on our bus tour! – -Tracy Joan.

Seven days. Thirty-one counties. Hundreds of miles. Thousands of people. What a week!

At every single stop John and Elizabeth were overwhelmed by your energy, your enthusiasm, your insightful questions, your moving personal stories, and your support.

Everywhere we look in Iowa it couldn’t be clearer that John’s support is strong and getting stronger. Now, we need to continue to build on our momentum. Please help us right now by inviting five of your friends and family to join us in this effort.

Then, make sure to check out the best videos and pictures from the road below!

A few of the best videos:

You can see all the videos from the tour here.

A collection of some of the best pictures:

You can see all the pictures from the tour here.

The second in the series of ads challenging Democratic Presidential candidates to get serious on healthcare launches in Iowa today—addressing Sen. Clinton—while nurses and doctors will converge on an upcoming Presidential forum with their critiques. 

We'll take a look, cross-posted at the National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association’s Breakroom Blog, as we organize to make 2007 the Year of GUARANTEED healthcare on the single-payer model.

It's day #5 of the Fighting for One America Iowa Bus Tour and once again, we've got loads to report from the last 24 hours. 

George put together a great photo essay over on the John Edwards blog.  And check out the vidoes from the day:

The day was spent talking about health care and John called for a major expansion of children's health insurance as an immediate step toward universal health care. He also unveiled his Iowa Children and Youth Cabinet, a wide-ranging group of Iowans with first hand knowledge of the issues facing young people today. The group consists of 31 children's advocates, community leaders, teachers and parents from across the state who will advise Edwards and his campaign on children's policy.

Today we're headed to Centerville, Bloomfield, Keokuk,  Burlington, Wapello and Iowa City.  You can expect to hear John talk about energy issues today, including the importance of getting Iowa's biofuels on America's roads.

As part of his plan to speed up the use of biofuels on our roads, John Edwards will:

• Give Kids a Biofuel Ride to School:  Today, Edwards announced a new Biofuel Buses program to help school districts replace conventional diesel with cleaner-burning biodiesel blends in 100,000 school buses nationwide. Biodiesel reduces bus-riding children’s exposure to cancer and asthma-causing emissions.
• Boost Biofuel Production:  Edwards will invest in public-private research partnerships to develop ways to maximize America’s biofuel ouput while minimizing pollution, soil erosion, and water, land and energy use.
• Build Out the Biofuels Infrastructure: Edwards will require oil companies to install biofuel pumps at 25 percent of their gas stations and require all new cars sold after 2010 to be “flex fuel” cars running on either gasoline or biofuel.
• Make American Cars and Trucks Virtually Petroleum-Free: Edwards believes that American automakers have the ingenuity to lead the world in building the clean, safe, economical cars of the future. He will provide $1 billion a year to help U.S. automakers advance and apply the latest technology, including biofuels, hybrid and electric cars, hydrogen fuel cells, ultra-light materials, and drive train improvements. 
• Raise Fuel Economy Standards: Edwards believes that everyone should be able to drive the car, truck or SUV of their choice and still enjoy high fuel economy. American cars and trucks are less efficient than they were two decades ago, despite the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards.  Edwards will raise standards to 40 miles per gallon by 2016, a step that could single-handedly reduce oil demand by 4 million barrels per day.

As always, we hope you can make it out to meet us on the road.  You can follow along online at johnedwards.com/iowa.  The Friday and Saturday bus tour schedules are below the fold!

Yesterday's scattered showers couldn't slow down the Fighting for One America bus tour as it rolled through Iowa.   John and Elizabeth made their way through Manly, Osage, Charles City, Waterloo and Waverly. Over on the John Edwards blog, George documented their stops with some photo-blogging.

We've also got another set of videos from the road: 

Finally, before the last stop of the day, Mrs. Edwards stopped by DailyKos for a live-blogging session where she answered questions about a number of topics and even got some tips from Bleeding Heartland's own “DesMoinesDem” who advised Mrs. Edwards:

If your kids like lemonade, the best deal at the fair is on the upper level of the ag building, where the honey producers sell lemonade sweetened with honey.

And if they like ice cream, I highly recommend the Bauder's truck right near the ag building!

 Below the fold, I've got today's schedule and tomorrow's too!  As always, we hope to meet you out on the road.  If you can't check us out in person, remember that you can follow us online at johnedwards.com/iowa.

It's day three of the Fighting for One America bus tour and we're rolling along through Iowa. Yesterday was an exciting day with stops in  Sioux City,Ida Grove, Rockwell City, Pocahontas, Clarion, and Clear Lake and a special focus on rural issues. 

Check out these videos:

Today we're headed to  Manly,Osage,Charles City,Waterloo and Waverly where John Edwards will talk about the importance of rewarding work.

As part of his plan to create One America where hard work is rewarded and families can get ahead, John Edwards will:

•  Raise the Minimum Wage to $9.50 an Hour: Under Gov. Culver, Iowa has been a leader in raising the minimum wage. But even at the 2008 level of $7.25, the earnings of a single parent with two children will still be $2,000 below the federal poverty line. Edwards will set a national goal of a minimum wage that equals half the average wage. He will raise the minimum wage by 75 cents a year until it reaches $9.50 in 2012. He will also restore the minimum wage for tipped workers to half the full minimum wage – the minimum wage for these workers has stood at $2.13 since 1997 – and extend wage and hour protections to home health care workers

• Protect Workers' Rights: As president, Edwards will revive the Department of Labor to protect the rights of all workers by working to reverse Bush Administration decisions that have excluded millions from the right to overtime pay. Edwards will also beef up OSHA enforcement and strengthen protections for workers who report injuries or unsafe conditions.

• Guarantee Universal Health Care: More than 250,000 Iowans don't have health insurance and one in four Americans with health insurance are underinsured. Guaranteeing quality affordable health care for every American is the most important thing we can do to strengthen the middle class and working class in this country. Edwards has a true universal health care plan that offers every American the option of a public plan and will save the average family $2,000 to 2,500 a year. Employers will have to help cover their employees, the government will make insurance affordable with new reforms and subsidies, and all Americans will buy insurance.

• Fight Predatory Lenders and Help Families Save: In the first half of 2007, the number of properties in Iowa being foreclosed on more than doubled compared to 2006. Edwards will crack down on abusive credit card companies, predatory mortgage lenders, and payday loan shops that take advantage of working families. To help families save, he will provide matched savings accounts for low-wage workers.

You can follow us along over at johnedwards.com/iowa, over on myspace.com/jreiowabus or we'd love to see you on the road!  Below the flip, I've included some details on the schedule for today and tomorrow!

Oh, and not to be missed, the photos:

So it's day two of the “Fighting for One America” Iowa bus tour and things have gotten off to a great start.  George Stern reports in from the bus:

Wow! What a first day.

After starting in Des Moines yesterday morning, the tour continued on to Perry, Jefferson, Carroll, Denison and Onawa for community meetings, an office stop-by, an ice cream break, and more. At each stop, John, Elizabeth and the kids were greeted by great crowds who were full of questions about the critical issues facing our country and enthusiasm for John's substantive answers.

One of the issues John focused on most yesterday – and each time he did it was always met with loud applause – is how we bring an end to the war in Iraq and improve care for our veterans.

In addition to the great photos from the road, we've also got some great video to share:

Today's stops are below, tomorrow's schedule is there too.  And remember, we'd love to meet you out on the road!  If you can't be there in person, check out our MySpace group for the “Fighting for One America” Iowa tour!

 John Edwards is hitting the road for a 7-day bus tour that will take him through 31 counties in Iowa.  

 Things got underway this morning at the Des Moines HQ, where Ed Fallon helped kicked things off.  In a post over on the John Edwards' blog, he wrote:

It's clear from all the excitement outside that Iowans feel the same way I do about John – he's the best candidate in this race not only because he's put forward the most specific and progressive proposals for providing universal health care, addressing global warming, and bringing an end to the war in Iraq, but also because he has the courage to focus on issues that others simply ignore – like eradicating poverty in America.

I am proud to stand with John Edwards today as he continues to talk about the issues important to Iowans, and I hope you'll turnout to meet him as he travels throughout the state over the next seven days.

 Below the fold, you can find the scheduled stops for the tour.  We hope you can join us out on the road!  You can also join us online, check out this MySpace group, especially for the Iowa Bus Tour! 

 Until then, a few more pictures and some video from the kick off in Des Moines.

My name is Carissa Picard.  Although I am an attorney, I have been staying at home with my two sons, ages 3 and 6, for the past five years.  My husband is a warrant officer in the United States Army.  He just finished a year-long tour in Central America and is going to Iraq in early 2008.  As a result, we have less than a year together before he has to redeploy.  Nonetheless, in June, I drove from Fort Hood, Texas, to Des Moines, Iowa, to help promote Senator Joe Biden's candidacy (at my own expense and with my husband's full support).  This is my blog about my experience with the campaign and the people of Iowa.

Over at Iowa Independent Dien Judge reports that “We haven't seen the end of the Clinton-Obama diplomacy feud.”

The chairman of the Democratic Party in Monroe County (southeast Iowa) got a phone call from PSA Interviewing, which conducted a message-testing poll for Clinton in Iowa earlier this year.

Most of the poll questions were about Hillary, and they concerned both policy matters and electability. The survey specifically asked about the CNN/You Tube debate question about whether the president should meet with foreign dictators, and under what conditions.

There's been a lot of debate in the blogosphere over who was helped by this dispute. If Clinton tries to keep this story alive in her speeches and/or campaign ads, it's a safe bet that her internal Iowa polling showed it was a winner for her. If she doesn't bring it up much in the future, we can assume that the polling showed most Iowans agreed with Obama.

I wrote a diary for Daily Kos and MyDD about Joe Biden being someone to watch in Iowa. I think it's a mistake for bloggers to be writing him off as a joke.

I put the whole diary after the jump. Be warned: it's long, and some of it is written for an audience that may not understand how the caucuses work.

Bottom line is that none of the front-runners should be taking anything for granted in Iowa. A lot of voters will thoroughly consider all the options before making up their minds.

I'm interested in your comments, either here or at one of the other sites:

http://www.dailykos….

http://www.mydd.com/…

UPDATE: I get mass e-mails from most of the campaigns, including Biden's. In my most surreal blogging-related experience ever, this evening the latest e-mail from his campaign links to my DKos diary!

For those of you who don't already know or who haven't yet registered, the second annual YearlyKos Convention is coming up quickly, August 2-5 in Chicago.  Last year was the first convention and it was held in Las Vegas, so I wasn't able to make it.  This year, however, I registered in January and have been making plans to go and be involved.  You can get details about the convention here .  So far, the convention is bringing out a lot of prominent bloggers and political leaders.  Here's a quick political guest list so far:

• Sen. Chris Dodd
• Sen. Dick Durbin
• Ret. Gen. Wes Clark
• DNC Chair and Gov. Howard Dean
• Fmr. Sen. John Edwards
• Sen. Barack Obama
• Gov. Bill Richardson

All of the Presidential candidates listed above will also be taking part in a presidential leadership forum hosted by the convention on August 4th.  They're still waiting to hear back from other candidates about their attendance.

Registration for the convention ends July 14th, so hurry up and get registered now.

There is also some fantastic networking and organizational opportunites to indulge in at YearlyKos, with lots of different breakout sessions and social opportunities.  One highlight this year will be Regional Blogging Caucuses.  I have the privilege of being one of the Organizers/Coordinators of the Minnesota-Wisconsin-Iowa Blog Caucus and I'm looking to get a list of Iowa folks who are planning on attending YearlyKos and would be interested in participating in the caucus.  They'll only be 90 minutes long and will provide ample time to talk about regional hot topics, as well as to get to know fellow bloggers from the region.  I'll post more information on the Regional Caucuses as I learn more.

Anyway, if you're planning on attending, leave a comment and let me know!

While this isn’t exactly Iowa-specific or Iowa-centered, I thought it was worth noting today’s MSNBC story on the left-leaning emphasis of journalistic contributions to federal campaigns and PACs.

Marc Ambinder decides to frame the issue as “all journalists are liberals” and says it doesn’t help fight the “liberal bias” title usually assigned to the MSM by the right-wing noise machine.

I’m more inclined to agree with Matt Yglesias:

“This effort at ginning up controversy by revealing political contributions made by employees of media organizations seems fundamentally misguided. For one thing, no effort is being made to see if the people named have any ability to impact coverage of national politics. They have, for example, a former copy editor here at The Atlantic on their list, but what nefarious influence is she supposed to have had on the magazine’s coverage?”

You can find the full list of journalists and their contributions here.  A large number of the folks listed are producers, copy editors, or other senior positions in journalistic enterprises.  Clearly, personal life issues and personal politics don’t inherently have to enter the work life and the job that one person is doing.  This goes for Republicans and Democrats.

Furthermore, this kind of ‘investigative’ reporting groups the kinds of journalists writing for Bloomberg in the same category as journalists writing for a magazine like The New Yorker.  Journalism isn’t just about writing down the facts of current events and reporting them to the people, there is real investigative work and commentary that can be done–with a clear intent.  Simply put, you can consider it analysis.  Writers for The New Yorker are pretty clear about stating their intent and opinions in their pieces, which make them fundamentally different then the reporting done in a Bloomberg news piece.

Clearly, there are conflicts of interest with some of the people mentioned the in report, but is it really something pervasive among the journalistic community in this country?  I guess that’s for the consumer and the reader to decide.

And if you’re curious for an Iowa-angle, the only journalist from Iowa making the list was Des Moines Register business reporter S.P. Dinnen, who gave $250 to John Kerry in 2004.  His explanation can be found here.

Last November, right before the midterm elections, CityView also did a big cover story on bias in the media, particularly in Iowa.  They covered all angles, including print, TV, and radio.  I recommend reading the full story here as it provides great insight into the efforts of the outlets to maintain their objectivity and it also provides a good list of just who in the Iowa media is registered with which party (if any).

Finally, there is a poll in the extended entry asking if you think there is bias in Iowa’s press.

When I see that David Yepsen has written another column about Iowans being over-taxed, I usually don’t get past the first couple of paragraphs. These columns show up a few times a year, whenever Yepsen gets hold of a press release from some right-wing think tank. I figure, I know what he’s going to say without reading the whole piece.

But fortunately, West Des Moines resident John Norwood actually read Yepsen’s latest column on the subject (link no longer available on the free portion of the Register website) and put together a devastating rebuttal that appeared in the Des Moines Register’s Sunday edition:

David Yepsen’s April 17 column once again beats the drum that somehow Iowa’s state and local tax burden is driving our state to ruin (“Lighten Growing Tax Burden”). We’re a state with the 18th-highest tax burden in the nation.

Having grown up in Massachusetts and later having lived 10 years in the San Francisco Bay area, two of the country’s most expensive areas, I have trouble reconciling my personal experience with the conclusions of the Tax Foundation that Yepsen cites.

Even if we take the Tax Foundation report as gospel, the chart presented next to Yepsen’s column notes that there is really very little difference between the 44th most-taxed state, which is South Dakota at 9 percent, and Iowa, which comes in 18th at 11 percent.

The variance in state rates is actually pretty narrow across most of the distribution. Move to Missouri, save 0.9 percent and you’re in the driver’s seat at 34th.

How many Iowans, who have access to superior education and other community services, are ready to leave for South Dakota or Missouri for that 1 percent to 2 percent difference? There’s an old saw, Yepsen, “You get what you pay for.”

Iowa is doing pretty well, if you ask me.

– John Norwood,

West Des Moines.

The idea that anyone is deciding where to live based on a 1 or 2 percent difference in tax rates is laughable. Thanks to the letter-writer for spelling out why.

Ed. Note: Cross-posted at Political Forecast.

So, I’m not sure how many folks have emailed or called their Representatives, but I know we’re being heard or read, just maybe not responded to.  After posting my original post both here and on Political Forecast as well as forwarding an email out to the Iowa Rapid Response email list, I know many other activists around Iowa have sought to contact Representatives in the Iowa House.  Jerry Depew of IowaVoters.org has been a leading voice on voting reform efforts in Iowa and has gotten the same standard response from Dave Jacoby that T.M. Lindsey received.  I emailed Reps. Jo Oldson, Dave Jacoby, Dwayne Alons, Pat Murphy, and Kevin McCarthy.  So far I haven’t received any responses.  DesMoinesDem called Jo Oldson and left a message, and as far I as I know has not heard back.

Meanwhile, I have a correction to report.  Dwayne Alons is not the Republican member of the subcommittee, but Rod Roberts is.  Here is his contact information:

• Rep. Rod Roberts (R)

  House District 51 — Carroll County

  Rod.Roberts@legis.state.ia.us

Sorry about the original confusion.  Please make sure to contact Rep. Roberts and find out where he stands on VOICE, HF 805.

Even if folks aren’t responding to your calls and emails, keep following up and putting the pressure on them to support the bill.  There may be concerns about funding and implementation, but that doesn’t mean the bill should be killed: It means the democratic process should be implemented, there should be a subcommittee hearing on the bill that is open to the public and that they should consider the problems with the bill there and work to improve it, not just kill it and put it aside for next year.  Iowans shouldn’t have to wait for the necessary reforms to our campaign finance system.

One final update, the calendar for tomorrow in the House has not yet been released.  As soon as I know if the House Appropriations Subcommittee plans on meeting, I’ll let you know.  We’ve got to get calls and emails (and follow-ups) in ASAP.  Keep up the hard work.

Ed. Note: Cross-posted at Political Forecast.

Today, we need action at the grassroots and netroots level to the bring Voter-Owned Iowa Clean Elections law out of subcommittee, to the full House Appropriations Committee, and then to the floor for debate in the Iowa House.  Ed Fallon (and his group I’m For Iowa) and former Governor Tom Vilsack both support HF 805 and right now the bill is in an appropriations subcommittee with instructions to kill the bill.

Members of that subcommittee include:

• Rep. Dave Jacoby (D)

  House District 30 — Johnson County

  David.Jacoby@legis.state.ia.us

• Rep. Jo Oldson (D)

  House District 61 — Polk County

  Jo.Oldson@legis.state.ia.us

• Rep. Dwayne Alons (R)

  House District 4 — Sioux County

  Dwayne.Alons@legis.state.ia.us

Please email them or call the House Switchboard at (515) 281-3221 to get a hold of them and ask them to support HF 805, the VOICE legislation.  The subcommittee is expected to meet either tomorrow or Wednesday — without large citizen support and efforts to communicate that support to them, they’ll kill the bill.  We cannot allow that to happen.  If the bill comes out of the subcommittee, it essentially becomes “funnel-proof” and must then be considered before the full House Appropriations Committee and would likely make it to the floor of the House for consideration.

When you contact your legislators, use this email from T.M. Lindsey as an example — and remember, be POLITE!  Also, include in your email if they plan on voting for the bill or against the bill, both in subcommittee and in further debate.  If they email you back, please post the response in the comments section and we can work to further inquire about the bill and where its going.  From these responses, we’ll start to put a list together of where each Representative stands and we can put the pressure on them.

As Common Iowan noted on Monday, Rep. Tyler Olson of Cedar Rapids had introduced a bill creating what were called “Energy City Designations” for cities to create and implement innovative and efficient energy programs.  His bill, HF 773, passed the Iowa House today on a vote of 92-2.  The bill doesn’t directly create amounts or options for state grants for cities that receive this designation, however it calls on the DNR to create these regulations and implement the bill.

From the House, the bill was messaged to the Senate, were it was referred to the Natural Resources and Environment Committee, where Sen. Dennis Black is the chair.  He lists his occupation as conservationist — and he’s from Grinnell — which leads me to believe that he and his committee will work hard to make sure this bill passes the Senate and truly creates a program that works with the Iowa Power Fund and other legislative and executive projects to help Iowa achieve energy independence and become the renewable fuels capital of the world, while at the same time achieve efficiency in the way our cities and towns operate.

When we have days like today where former Vice President Al Gore testifies before a House Committee and has to confront Republican climate change skeptics, it clearly shows just how far we have to go in this country to make sure that global climate change is a problem and that we must work harder to become energy independent, efficient, and innovative.  At least Iowans can be proud that this bill passed in a bipartisan manner.