So Many Candidates, So Little Time Left

Participants in the group used words such as "moral" and "honest" and "believable" to describe him. Brown called Huckabee "the most conservative" of the group but, in the next breath, added, "I think he'd make a great vice president."

Thompson has gone backward in Iowa over the past few months, but several in the group were more impressed by him in this debate than they had been before and found him strong and confident. But he was also "old-school," said Mary Pettijohn, 72, of Altoona.

Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani drew mixed reviews. Several discounted his performance on Sept. 11, 2001, a major part of Giuliani's appeal nationally.

"He was on his own turf when 9/11 happened," said Sue Raveling, 33, of Waukee. "That was his city, and I think a person in his position should have been able to focus on what needed to be done. But you know the country is much bigger."

Members of the group liked Giuliani's optimism and sense of confidence but were not sold on him. "New Yorker," one said. "Phony," another said.

Arizona Sen. John McCain was identified as the candidate who would best defend the country against terrorist attacks, but otherwise was written off. Many in the group disliked his stance on immigration and his past opposition to ethanol subsidies, a major issue in Iowa, and still seemed to resent that he skipped Iowa entirely in his 2000 campaign.

The Republicans talked openly about the need to find a compelling candidate to run in the general election, fearing that the Democrats will have a strong nominee.

"The Democratic candidate's going to be new or novel," Reid said, noting the possibility of the first female or African American nominee. "I think you need someone who can beat that. Some of the candidates who are very qualified I don't believe can beat Hillary or Obama because they just don't have that pizzazz."

In the Democratic group, Obama received by far the most flattering comments. "Cool," "charismatic," "eloquent," "inspirational," "honest," were all mentioned. Des Moines resident Marion D. Eppright, 60, called him "a person of rare excellence."

Still, some raised questions about Obama's staying power. "I think he has a lot of good ideas. I agree with a lot of the things he said," said Rita Primmer, 56, of Des Moines. "But, personally, I don't think he's strong enough right now. I don't think he has enough experience to be strong enough. I don't think he's strong enough to pull it off."

Eppright, the strongest Obama supporter in the group, disagreed. He said Obama has the strength to be a good president, although he conceded that the Illinois senator's foreign policy credentials might cause worries among others.

Eppright said Obama's leadership skills were what appealed to him. "He's saying, 'Let's work together.' So I think that as far as getting a Congress to work with him, he would be very, very good," he said.