NDN Blog

(Best if read while listening to Europe.)

It's HERE! Finally, the Iowa caucus is upon us. As they close out their final arguments, the candidates are lowering expectations, focusing more on domestic issues and endulging in superstitions. As always, the inevitable questions about sustainability in a post-caucus campaign are coming up. For those of you who aren't in Iowa and are escaping the cold (shout out to our former interns and everyone working hard in Iowa!), here are some interesting reads for you on much anticipated Thursday:

- Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times and Michael Shear and Anne Kornblut of the Washington Post offer a good recap of the final arguments. (Be sure to check out NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's assessment of the field if you haven't yet read it.)

- Jennifer Skalka from Hotline on Call offers a preview of tonight's caucus.

- As Peter Nicholas points out in the LA Times, Hillary Clinton continues to make her "battle tested/ready" argument. That aside, Ben Smith from the Politico argues that she still hasn't found a slogan.

- Tom Witosky and Grant Schulte focus on the back and forth between John McCain and Mitt Romney. For more Mitt, check out Susan Milligan's comparison of the campaigns between Romney and Mike Huckabee.

- Dan Balz weighs in with the "8 Questions Iowa Could Answer".

- For a neat look at Iowa, the Washington Post has put together a neat map of the Hawkeye State's political geography.

- Finally, ruminations over the possible impact of the independent voter have captured our attention. Thomas Beaumont from the Des Moines Register offers his take, and John Judis and NPI Fellow Ruy Teixera offer theirs in the Guardian. (Also take a look at how the second tier candidates could change the outcome.)

Reminder: be sure to check out the final ads of each candidate, in order of their placement in the new Reuters poll. (Disclaimer: not all candidates have ads up, and those that do aren't all running ads in Iowa.):

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

Mike Huckabee is rounding out his efforts in Iowa and New Hampshire with two TV ads, but the ad everyone is talking about is not among them.

"Tax cuts":

"Our Values":

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.  

This past weekend, Fred Thompson launched his last ad in Iowa, "Substance." It touts his proposals then concludes by saying that Thompson is "the clear Conservative choice." In a separate web video, Thompson makes a much longer appeal to Iowans.

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here. 

Ron Paul is running an ad in Iowa and New Hampshire that claims he is the answer to America's problems. Does anyone else think the narrator of the ad sounds somewhat like Mitt Romney? Either way, the ad is quite different from his abominable ad on immigration.

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

Like Rudy Giuliani, John McCain isn't spending a dime in Iowa on campaign advertisements. He's probably hoping to place in the top three without spending money, use that going into New Hampshire where he hopes to take top honors, then go onward and upward from there. Either way, McCain's focusing on New Hampshire as you can see in his ads: "Respect", "Consider", and "Endorsed":

Then there are the two web ads - "Foreign Policy Alert" and "Experience" (below) - that are directed at Mitt Romney:

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.  

Mitt Romney has added a new ad - entitled "Everywhere" - to his Iowa rotation.

Romney also went up in New Hampshire with an upbeat tone in "Vote for Tomorrow" and has a web video up called "Full Spectrum Conservative."

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

Just kidding, Rudy's not running an ad in the Hawkeye State. If he had decided to contest there, perhaps this is the ad he would be running.  But since he didn't, watch the ad he is running in Florida and New Hampshire:

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

Governor Bill Richardson has been stressing his plan for Iraq as the Iowa caucus nears. His ad "A Way Out" emphasizes that:

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here. 

Chris Dodd got his final argument onto the airwaves almost two weeks ago in "Together":

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

Joe Biden has aired two ads in Iowa that could both make his argument as a credible candidate. "January Night" and "Office" are both good closing ads; but Biden's an interesting guy, so I chose to post his web video, Stand with Me, below instead:

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.