GOP Candidates Converge On Iowa for the Straw Poll

Saturday, August 11, 2007

TODAY'S THE DAY

GOP Candidates Converge On Iowa for the Straw Poll

Heading into today's Iowa straw poll, the Republican candidates for president -- minus some heavy hitters -- descended yesterday on the Iowa State Fair for a day of politicking among the masses. They worked the same crowds that they hope will show up 35 miles north today, in Ames, to vote in the poll. The results are nonbinding, but the Ames event is widely viewed as a test of organizational and popular support in this first-in-the-nation caucus state.

Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor, has dedicated significant resources to today's contest and is the front-runner in the straw poll. He started his day yesterday in Ogden and Nevada, Iowa. But by noon, he was sweating it out with the rest of the field in Des Moines, engaging in a photo op at the pork producers tent and a brief speech on the Grand Avenue concourse, not far from the fried-Oreo and fried-Twinkie stand.

Dave Jamison, the Scott County treasurer, introduced Romney in Nevada, about 10 miles east of Ames. His message: The straw poll will weed out the weak candidates, leaving only the strongest to head into the fall campaign season this year.

"We're not going to pick who's going to be president or not," he said. "But we'll certainly pick who's not. A few thousand people in Iowa are going to pick who's not going to be the leader of the free world. . . . [Tomorrow] do you fish, golf, find an air-conditioned mall or something? Or do you go to the straw poll? We want you to go to the straw poll."

One key person who won't be at the straw poll is former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. He chose not to participate, even though he has said he will compete vigorously to win Iowa's caucus. According to a PowerPoint presentation prepared for senior advisers to Giuliani, the former mayor knows just how tough the fight will be.

The 16-slide presentation, obtained by The Washington Post, takes great pains to lay out how much more Giuliani's rivals have done to prepare in the state but also provides an assessment of the former mayor's own position in Iowa.

The bottom line, as captured by the title of slide 13: "GIULIANI IS ORGANIZING FOR THE CAUCUS BUT STILL A LONG WAY TO GO."

-- Michael D. Shear

THE END OF THE LINE?

Thompson's Candidacy May Be Winding Down

On the day before the day that could end his presidential candidacy, Tommy G. Thompson, the former health and human services secretary and four-term governor of Wisconsin, was typically upbeat.

"I don't think [Mitt] Romney's going to win it easily," he said of the former Massachusetts governor. "I think his support is very, very thin. I may be wrong on that. And I think at 110 degrees or 95 degrees or whatever it's going to be tomorrow, it's going to be tough to get anybody's voters there."

Thompson has said repeatedly that he will quit the Republican race if he doesn't finish first or second in the straw poll. Many here doubt that he will meet that test.

The presidential stars have never aligned for Thompson. He is one of the longest of long shots in the 2008 campaign after passing up opportunities to run in 1996 and 2000, when he was seen as one of the most innovative and effective governors in the country.

"I should have run in '96, and I should have run in 2000," he said over coffee at the only Starbucks in downtown Des Moines. "I got talked out of it. I would have been in a stronger position in both times, because I would have been a sitting governor and just coming off huge successes in welfare and school choices."

But Thompson said he wanted to make clear that he isn't feeling sorry for himself. Today, he will straddle a Harley-Davidson and ride into Ames with a bunch of motorcycle buddies. He did the same eight years ago, then on behalf of George W. Bush. This time, he'll be looking to spring a big surprise and, he hopes, turn his attention to New Hampshire and South Carolina.

-- Dan Balz

THE COLOR OF POLITICS

Obama Speaks of Concerns That He's 'Not Black Enough'

Speaking before the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Las Vegas, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) directly addressed the charge that he is "not black enough."

He joked about the issue at first, poking fun at a stereotype of blacks. "I apologize for being a little bit late," he said, "but you guys keep asking if I'm black enough, so I figured I would stroll in."

But he turned serious about such questions. "We should ask ourselves why that is," he said. "It is not because of my physical appearance presumably. It's not because of my track record. . . . I think, in part, we're still locked in this notion if you appeal to white folks, there must be something wrong."

Obama also touched on foreign policy and criticized Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) by name, arguing that Clinton had signaled her agreement with a statement he made about attacking al-Qaeda in Pakistan before changing her position on the issue.

Phil Singer, a Clinton spokesman, said, "Senator Clinton will ensure that [Osama] bin Laden is killed or captured but knows there is a difference between saying that and telegraphing how we would do so in way that makes it harder to achieve that goal."

Obama was asked by the journalists if he, as the Democratic nominee, would pick Clinton as his running mate. Obama said she was "very capable" and that she would be on anyone's short list.

-- Perry Bacon Jr.