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Quick Clips

Democrats angle for second place
Iowa Democrats look to pick a winner
Kucinich: Obama is my second choice (in Iowa)
Biden makes final push in Iowa
Make ’Em Laugh
In Iowa, Bubba's back
Edwards sees cash bonus from Iowa win
Edwards Calls for Quick Pullout of Troops
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine joins Obama on Iowa trail
Republicans' Identity Crisis
As his lead slips, Romney targets McCain and Huckabee
GOP candidates turn up the volume
Huckabee and the Intelligence Report on Iran
Huckabee Shows Negative Spot After Pulling It From Television
Huckabee Unveils Ad Only to Disavow It
It's Huckabee on offense, or not
Huckabee foes open their wallets for attack ads
Huckabee's faith cuts both ways
Huckabee strums and stumps
Huckabee Thanks Bloggers
Ron Paul: an absolute faith in free markets and less government
Should Ron Paul be allowed at Sunday's debate?
A Once-Easy Campaign Becomes a Test for Romney
Bloomberg in ’08? If So, Paper Chase Starts Soon
Got a Night Job? No Caucus for You
Undecideds have the upper hand in Iowa
2008 presidential hopefuls offer last pitches for Iowa
In Iowa, uplifting appeals to voters replace stinging insults
Iowa caucuses: The back story
An Odd Couple With Big Influence
Candidates Unveil New Messages, Ads in Scramble to Reach Voters
Campaigns Feeling Effects of Iowa Poll
What if Iowa Settles Nothing for Democrats?
Democrats Fill Day Campaigning Before Ringing In ’08
As the Iowa Caucuses Near, This Guy Is A Hot Potato
Politics swarms Des Moines after dark
Iowa kicks off the most wide-open race since '80. Looking beyond the Reagan-Bush era
Outside Groups Spend Heavily and Visibly to Sway ’08 Races
Candidates ring in 2008 on the trail
More on the Register Poll
Pakistan Vote Delayed to February

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THE FIELD

Democrats angle for second place

By Peter Wallsten and Maria L. La Ganga
Los Angeles Times
January 1, 2008

On Iowa caucus night, backers of candidates who don't make the cut will be freed up. The front-runners are ready…

Iowa Democrats look to pick a winner

By Seema Mehta and Maria L. La Ganga
Los Angeles Times
December 31, 2007

Is the candidate electable come November? That's the prime question as the courtship phase ends and the time to commit nears…

Kucinich: Obama is my second choice (in Iowa)

By John McCormick
Chicago Tribune
January 1, 2008

SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- The Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll released late Monday shows Rep. Dennis Kucinich with the support of 1 percent of Democrats likely to attend Thursday's presidential caucuses…

BIDEN

Biden makes final push in Iowa

By Rick Pearson
Chicago Tribune
January 1, 2008

DES MOINES—Harking back to his days as a public defender, Democrat Joe Biden delivered what he called his "closing argument" today for the Iowa caucuses in his bid to move on and play another day in the presidential playoffs…

CLINTON

Make ’Em Laugh

By Cate Doty
New York Times
January 1, 2008

Call it post-New Year’s fun or pre-caucus jitters, but Hillary Rodham Clinton’s sense of humor was clearly on display today…

In Iowa, Bubba's back

By Ben Smith
Politico.com
January 1, 2008

CHEROKEE, Iowa — Hillary Clinton has been deploying her most valuable resource in the conservative, rural country of Western Iowa, where Democrats seldom focus…

EDWARDS

Edwards sees cash bonus from Iowa win

Associated Press
January 1, 2008

John Edwards predicts his financial disadvantage against Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama would be quickly overcome if he were to…

Edwards Calls for Quick Pullout of Troops

By Michael R. Gordon
New York Times
January 2, 2008

John Edwards has staked out a position that would lead to a more rapid and complete troop withdrawal from Iraq than his principal rivals…

OBAMA

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine joins Obama on Iowa trail

By John McCormick
Chicago Tribune
January 1, 2008

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- As Sen. Barack Obama travels along the Missouri River this evening, from Sioux City to Council Bluffs, he is being introduced by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, someone the Illinois Democrat says is a leader in "one of the reddest states."

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THE FIELD

Republicans' Identity Crisis
Key Platforms Are Controlled By Disparate Candidates

By Jackie Calmes
Wall Street Journal
January 2, 2008

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Jim Bellman, a 53-year-old insurance agent here, sported a "Rudy" sticker as he braved the cold to catch a brief appearance by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at Funaro's Deli. But he's not sold on the Republican presidential candidate…

As his lead slips, Romney targets McCain and Huckabee

By Ariel SabarChristian Science Monitor
January 2, 2008

Polls released Sunday show Romney in dead heats in both Iowa and New Hampshire…

GOP candidates turn up the volume

By Scott Martelle
Los Angeles Times
December 31, 2007

Romney TV ads batter Huckabee in Iowa and McCain in New Hampshire. They answer with their own barrages…

HUCKABEE

Huckabee and the Intelligence Report on Iran

By Marc Santora
New York Times
January 1, 2008

The Republican candidate continues to defend his lack of knowledge on the intelligence surrounding Iran's nuclear plans…

Huckabee Shows Negative Spot After Pulling It From Television

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
January 1, 2008

Mike Huckabee got free publicity for his message against Mitt Romney while claiming the moral high ground…

Huckabee Unveils Ad Only to Disavow It

By Michael D. Shear and Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Post
January 1, 2008

DES MOINES, Dec. 31 -- Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee took an unorthodox gamble in his bid for the presidency Monday, unveiling an attack ad against Republican rival Mitt Romney and then immediately pledging not to run it in the hopes of appealing to the better nature of Iowa voters…

It's Huckabee on offense, or not

By Joe Mathews and Mark Z. Barabak
Los Angeles Times
January 1, 2008

The GOP candidate purportedly turns the other cheek on an anti-Romney strategy. Still, he shows an attack ad to reporters anyway…

Huckabee foes open their wallets for attack ads

By Dan Morain
Los Angeles Times
January 1, 2008

Independent groups join the Iowa assault on the former Arkansas governor. Their efforts appear to have stalled his climb in the polls…

Huckabee's faith cuts both ways

By Joe Mathews
Los Angeles Times
December 31, 2007

Religion helped him as governor, he says. Some saw it as a hindrance…

Huckabee strums and stumps

By Jason George
Chicago Tribune
January 1, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – When Mike Huckabee appeared here this afternoon at an Elks Lodge, he spent the first third of his time on stage with his bass guitar in hand, thumping his way through the 12-bar blues standards of "Mustang Sally," "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Sweet Home Chicago."

Huckabee Thanks Bloggers

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
January 1, 2008

The Republican candidate says bloggers help boost his candidacy…

PAUL

Ron Paul: an absolute faith in free markets and less government

By Gail Russell Chaddock
Christian Science Monitor
January 2, 2008

The 10-term congressman from Texas has been a strict constitutionalist since he came into public life some 30 years ago…

Should Ron Paul be allowed at Sunday's debate?

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
January 1, 2008

Rumor has it he's out, but neither Fox nor the New Hampshire GOP want to take responsibility…

ROMNEY

A Once-Easy Campaign Becomes a Test for Romney

By Adam Nagourney and Michael Luo
New York Times
January 1, 2008

The past two months challenged Mitt Romney to adapt to a rapidly changing political situation as he grappled with Mike Huckabee’s lead in Iowa…

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BLOOMBERG

Bloomberg in ’08? If So, Paper Chase Starts Soon

By Ken Belson and Serge F. Kovaleski
New York Times
January 1, 2008

Money could smooth the way toward getting on the ballot in all 50 states as an independent candidate…

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Got a Night Job? No Caucus for You

By Jodi Kantor
New York Times
January 2, 2008

Because the caucuses, held in the early evening, do not allow absentee voting, they tend to leave out near-entire categories of voters…

Undecideds have the upper hand in Iowa

By Chuck Raasch
Gannett News Service
January 1, 2008

Brenda Schumann showed up at a Chris Dodd for President campaign rally to praise the Democratic senator from Connecticut, but she will end…

2008 presidential hopefuls offer last pitches for Iowa

By Susan Page
USA Today
January 1, 2008

The leading presidential contenders made closing arguments for their candidacies and against their opponents in weekend interviews with USA…

In Iowa, uplifting appeals to voters replace stinging insults

Associated Press
January 2, 2008

Uplifting appeals largely replaced stinging insults Tuesday as Democratic and Republican candidates did the only thing left to do in Iowa races that are too close to call — encourage supporters to vote for them…

Iowa caucuses: The back story

Los Angeles Times
January 1, 2008

For Republicans, the process is straightforward. For Democrats, it's a bit more complicated -- and that's where the strategies lie…

An Odd Couple With Big Influence

By Joel Achenbach
Washington Post
January 1, 2008

GRUNDY CENTER, Iowa -- Two states guard the campaign trail as though they own it. Their influence on national politics is wildly disproportionate to their modest populations. Neither has anything that could be called a large city, or a slum, or a sprawling suburb. Both are dotted with small towns where everyone knows everyone else. One is very white, the other whiter still…

Candidates Unveil New Messages, Ads in Scramble to Reach Voters

By Amy Chozick
Wall Street Journal
January 1, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa -- With the caucuses only days off, the 2008 White House hopefuls put on a full-court press to connect with voters before they tune out politics for New Year celebrations and football games…

Campaigns Feeling Effects of Iowa Poll

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
January 1, 2008

The results of the Des Moines Register’s final poll of Iowa caucus-goers continued to reverberate across the campaign trail as the clock ticked toward the caucuses…

What if Iowa Settles Nothing for Democrats?

By Adam Nagourney
New York Times
January 1, 2008

A number of polls have suggested that the Democratic caucus on Thursday night could end up more or less a tie…

Democrats Fill Day Campaigning Before Ringing In ’08

By Patrick Healy and Julie Bosman
New York Times
January 1, 2008

The candidates drove home their final messages to Iowa voters, while calibrating expectations on how they will perform in the caucuses on Thursday…

As the Iowa Caucuses Near, This Guy Is A Hot Potato
Student's Toy Ploy Brings Smile to Candidates' Faces

By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post
January 1, 2008

CLINTON, Iowa -- It's not at all unusual for folks in this town to meet at least one of the presidential candidates. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Chris Dodd et al. have campaigned amid Clinton's 27,000 residents in recent months…

Politics swarms Des Moines after dark

By Louise Roug
Los Angeles Times
December 31, 2007

Bars and restaurants are turned into informal headquarters as campaign staffers dominate the city's night life…

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An Epochal Battle
Iowa kicks off the most wide-open race since '80. Looking beyond the Reagan-Bush era

By Gerald F. Seib
Wall Street Journal
January 2, 2008

When Iowa voters walk into their state's caucuses tomorrow night, they will be kicking off a milestone campaign year that promises a new political course for America…

Outside Groups Spend Heavily and Visibly to Sway ’08 Races

By Leslie Wayne
New York Times
January 1, 2008

Spurred by a Supreme Court decision, independent groups are committing resources as never before…

Candidates ring in 2008 on the trail

By Scott Martelle and Michael Finnegan
Los Angeles Times
January 1, 2008

Huckabee, Romney continue to spar. With the Democratic front-runners in a dead heat, Obama gets a potential boost as Kucinich directs some supporters to his rival…

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More on the Register Poll

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
January 1, 2008

The Des Moines Register poll showed women supporting Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton equally…

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Pakistan Vote Delayed to February

By Jane Perlez
New York Times
January 2, 2008

The timing of the election and how the news of the delay is received could be critical to Pakistan’s stability…