Undecided Voters in Both Parties See a Wealth of Choices for Iowa Caucuses
By David S. Broder and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, December 15, 2007
DES MOINES, Dec. 14 -- With both parties lacking clear front-runners in the race for the White House, several of the undecided Iowa voters assembled by The Washington Post this week to talk in-depth about the contenders are still weighing as many as four candidates just weeks before the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses.
Danielle Brown, 29, an undecided likely Republican voter from Clive, summed up her concerns this way: "There's no candidate that ignites passion in me or ignites the feeling, you know, that he can help our country. I felt a little bit more like Romney would do that . . . that he's led his life pretty honestly. But I still don't think he has everything."
In the Democratic group, Marty Warrick, 38, of Pleasant Hill said he thinks voters are excited. "We've got a few very good candidates, a lot of good candidates that have a lot of good ideas," he said.
Overall, participants in the Republican group had the most favorable views of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who led in recent Iowa polls. But former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson's performance in Wednesday's Republican debate also brought him back into consideration for some.
On the Democratic side, some polls have begun to show Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois moving into the lead, and he won the broadest praise among this group of on-the-fence voters. But New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former North Carolina senator John Edwards also had solid support, while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson impressed some with his debate performance.
The Post brought together a dozen Republicans and 11 Democrats on consecutive nights to watch this week's Des Moines Register presidential debates and discuss the campaign. All said they are uncommitted but definitely plan to attend the caucuses.
Focus groups are not necessarily a representative sample of Iowa voters or caucus attendees. But the views of these 23 Iowans offered insights into the issues that are driving the elections here and the questions that remain in the minds of some voters as the caucuses approach.
Romney has spent more time and money in Iowa than any of the other candidates, and that investment appears to have paid off among these voters. Some in the Republican group described him as a strong leader with attractive ideas who looks like a president. They used words such as "leadership," "vision," "strong" and "focused" to describe him.
"He had a specific answer for every question, something that he actually wanted to do," said Sheri Reid, 65, of Ankeny. "I'm leaning much more towards him this time than I have been."
But others expressed reservations. One focus group member called him "smooth"; another said he was "trying too hard." "I don't trust him," a third said. But no one explicitly called him a flip-flopper, as some of his opponents have done. Nor was his Mormonism raised as a negative by anyone.
Huckabee's debate performance also impressed the group. Some liked his discussion of preventive health care and advocacy for teaching art and music as well as science and math in schools. Others mentioned his tough stand on trade with China.
"I don't think Huckabee lost any ground," said Ken Boatright, 62, of Des Moines. "Nobody laid a finger on him, I would say, for anything significant. So if he was the leader going in, he probably might be coming out."
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.
Views on Clinton were more mixed. Some found her "honest" and "caring" or "really focused." Negatives included "mechanical," "very good at saying what she thinks we want to hear." One was more blunt: "She's got an evil side to her."
Clinton prompted the most lively discussion of the evening, as the voters weighed her strengths and weaknesses.
Jason Marcel said he admires her "work ethic." "I think you know that she would work very hard," he said. But he said, "It annoys me that she kept referring back to the '90s. . . . I want to hear more about your plans for when you're in office."
"I think she'd make a great president," said Linda McKinney, 40, of Norwalk. "I just don't know that people would vote for a woman."
Edwards impressed people for his willingness to take on special interests and corporate power. One used the words "fierce determination" to describe him. Others called him "trustworthy" and "real." But he too drew a few negatives. One called him "slick"; another said he was not trustworthy.
Warrick, a Teamster, said he thought Edwards could be a successful president "because he stands for something, and I don't think he would back down. He doesn't seem wishy-washy."
Richardson was seen as "very knowledgeable," compassionate and "down to earth," but more vice presidential than presidential.
By a few of the Democrats, Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut were described as "forgettable" for their debate performances.
Two topics that got minimal attention during the final debates were of burning interest to these voters.
Among Republicans, immigration sparked a passionate discussion about measures to curb the flow of illegal immigrants across the border. Betty McIntosh, 72, of Pleasant Hill, works as a volunteer at a hospital and says she sees the strains illegal immigrants put on the system. "I hope this doesn't sound petty." she said, "I mean, hundreds of these illegals come in and have their children get free care, free clinic for all of this, and yet my insurance keeps going up and up."
Reid said, "We have communities in this state that have been taken over -- generational families have moved away, and it's all become a Hispanic community."
Democrats were almost as passionate about ending the war in Iraq. "The war is my biggest issue," said Carolyn Johnson, 72. "I think they need somebody that can get them out of there, not just in a month or two. It's going to take a while to get the guys out of there."
"I truly support the people that are over there," Primmer said. "But I think it is needless that the president went into war."
Polling director Jon Cohen and polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.
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