Caucus night looms

[Feanorcurufinwe]

"I’ve never seen so many stressed-out Democrats trying to figure out who the right guy is,’’ said Steffen Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University, Ames. "That’s why so many of them are going this way, that way and the other way and you’ve got a four-way race.’’

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Nedra Haley, who plans to caucus in Des Moines, still had not made up her mind as she waded into a recent Dean rally. "I’m leaning toward Dean, but it’s tough out there,’’ she said. "We’ve got some good choices and we’ve never had such good choices that I can remember. "I think there will be people who go into the caucus and see what everybody else is doing,’’ she said. "People can still be swayed at the last moment.’’

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Although Iowa has played a big part in presidential politics since 1972, rarely have Democratic caucus-goers faced such a crucial role in charting the direction for their party’s White House hopes. Hundreds of reporters from around the globe have converged on the state to record the final verdict. Iowans may deliver a critical early boost to Dean, who has campaigned here for more than two years. His opposition to the war in Iraq and his edgy, anti-Washington message appealed to disgruntled Democrats and pushed him to the front of the pack late last summer. But Iowans also may deal Dean an unexpected setback, validating the fears of his critics who argue that his in-your-face, shoot-from-the-lip style is the wrong formula for victory in November.

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But supporters backing other hopefuls could hold wild cards on caucus night. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio has a small but loyal base of support, and it is likely that U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and retired Gen. Wesley Clark of Arkansas will receive some backing even though their campaigns bypassed the caucuses. If those candidates fail to reach the 15 percent support threshold in each caucus needed to qualify for delegates, their supporters could play a big role in the fortunes of other candidates. "People have to be very sophisticated inside the caucus to be able to convince those people that aren’t viable to join them,’’ Gov. Tom Vilsack said. "That could change the whole direction of this. So anything could happen on Monday.’’
http://www.iowapulse.com/2003/story115.html