Caucus Countdown

With only a few days remaining before the Iowa Caucuses I'm sure that most Iowans have made up their minds about whom they will be supporting on January 3rd. But here's a little something for the rest of the nation to consider.

The most important thing that can come out of the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primaries is a clear signal that the American people are taking back the political process.

What do I mean by that?

I hope that the results of the Iowa Caucuses send a clear message that despite the poll results and stories ad nauseuam about the so-called "front-runners" that the media has been feeding the public, the American electorate will not be influenced by the inequities in mainstream media coverage, debate moderators with personal agendas, the wheedling of political pundits and campaign strategies that smell of Rovian politics.

On the morning of January 4th I hope that voters will not let the corporately controlled media tell them when a candidate's campaign is or isn't over. Yes, there will be winners and losers in the Iowa Caucuses and NH Primaries but neither of these elections should sound a death toll for anyone's campaign.

When this campaign season began so early I initially thought that it was a little ridiculous and very few people would really be paying attention. But people are paying attention, close attention. Not only to the candidates, but to the issues and the way the media is presenting both. People seem to have a sense that the stakes are much too high to take the outcome of the 2008 Presidential election lightly.

Yes, I personally, hope that John Edwards wins, or has a very strong showing, in Iowa and New Hampshire. And yes, as an African American woman I am very happy to see the possibility for the first woman or African-American US President. But I also appreciate the views and positions of candidates like Biden, Dodd, Kucinich and Richardson and believe that none of them should be discounted because of an imbalance in media coverage or because some pundit states that if they do not win Iowa or New Hampshire that they won't be able to continue their campaigns.

The issues that the next President of the United will need to address are weighty and complex. The American people deserve the chance to judge every candidate, not just the front-runners, based on their records, policies and positions. Iowa and New Hampshire should just be the beginning of the process.


Here are a few video clips of the candidates that I am watching closely. I hope that you will give them a good long look as well:

Senator Dodd rallying caucus goers on his final tour of Iowa before the Caucuses, December 30th in Le Mars Iowa.


On December 27, 2007, Barack gave this speech in Des Moines, Iowa.

The following is a video montage of Joe Biden at the Des Moines Register Debate on December 13, 2007

And finally, John Edwards speaks during the Democratic National Committee's annual fall meeting in Vienna, Virginia on November 30, 2007