Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - Posts
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One fascinating aspect of the antiquated, convoluted Iowa caucus system is that each candidate has to teach his or her own supporters how to, er, caucus. (‘Tis the season where caucus becomes a verb.) The state parties also hold training sessions, but for the most part it’s up to the candidates to make sure people know how it works.
So far, Hillary and Obama have led the charge. Hillary released a web video earlier this month called “Caucusing Is Easy,” that explains which forms to fill out and what to do once you show up to the caucus. “It’s usually over early enough to get back for your favorite TV show,” says one lady. Unless, of course, your favorite TV show is the Orange Bowl.
Obama, meanwhile, has recruited a team of 73 “Caucus Pros” to train first-time caucus-goers across the state. But given that Obama’s Iowa organization depends largely on mobilizing younger voters, it seems bizarre that the average Caucus Pro is 62 years old. (The youngest is a sprightly 41.) If it’s young bodies they want, why not have Amber Lee Ettinger run the training? Obama also has his own caucusing-made-easy site.
While John Edwards has no high-profile caucus training program, he does have two big advantages: One is the Services Employees International Union, which endorsed Edwards in Iowa last month and has 2,000 workers it can mobilize in that state on his behalf. The other is that the majority of Edwards supporters have caucused before, compared to about half of Hillary and Obama supporters, according to a recent ABC News/Washington Post survey. So on the one hand, he seems to have a less developed caucus training program; but on the other, Ed-heads already know how it's done.
Republican candidates have an easier a job, since the GOP caucuses are much simpler: Show up, talk about your favorite candidate, vote, and you’re done. There’s none of the complicated group-forming and re-forming the Democrats deal with. It makes you wonder why they don't just suck in their pride and call it a primary.
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An upcoming issue of TV Guide has an amusing roundup of the 2008 presidential candidates’ favorite television shows. Nothing too surprising here: Hillary watches Grey’s Anatomy, Barack Obama likes The Wire (for the record, that’s the right answer), and John Edwards says his viewing guilty pleasure is "Fred Thompson on Law & Order."
But the collection is hardly comprehensive. We decided to make a few calls and fill in the cracks:
Mike Gravel likes the History Channel and Turner Movie Classics, according to a spokesman. Although Gravel, he says, “doesn’t watch a lot of TV.”
Ron Paul, according to spokesman Jesse Benton, “really only watches the news.”
Tom Tancredo watches “nothing in particular. He really likes the History Channel, though,” says spokesman Alan Moore.
“I’ve never seen Duncan [Hunter] watch TV,” says a volunteer who works in the California congressman’s office.
You can sort of see why TV Guide left them out.
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Barbra Streisand threw her vocal chords behind Hillary Clinton today, a not-so-surprising endorsement for the long-time Democratic activist. Streisand sang at Bill Clinton's inaugural gala and dedicated a song to 42 and Hill. Most interesting, though, is that Streisand donated $2,300 to not only Clinton, but also Barack Obama and John Edwards. (She also tossed a grand into Chris Dodd's coffer.)
Can you imagine if Oprah had donated to Hillary's campaign? Chuck Norris to Mitt Romney's? That Desperate Housewives guy to Bill Richardson's?
Meanwhile, does this mean Hillary Clinton's theme song might change from Celine Dion's "You and I" to Babs' "The Way We Were"? Probably not. Lyrics like "static pictures of the smiles we left behind; smiles we gave to one another of the way we were" would make her sound like she's running to reinstate the Clinton era--and the campaign is careful to "Stay Away" from that message. Zing!
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Spotted in an AP story about Fred Thompson's visit to a gun store in Bristol, N.H.:
"I used to have my own skeet shoot," Thompson boasted as he wandered through the gun shop and bought his children gifts. "Some of my opponents, you know, have a bad record or no records. I have a solid record. ... I'm not embarrassed to remind anybody of it." [emphasis added]
Baby's first AK-47? A flak jacket with matching booties? Not exactly, says Thompson spokesman Jeff Sadowsky: "He got Hayden some winter gloves and Sammy a T-shirt. ... I believe it was a camo T-shirt."
Still—a gun store? Surely there was some charming antique shop or Mom and Pop toy outlet just around the corner. Either way, best to save the 12-gauge for next year.
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