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When Hillary Rodham Clinton was asked by Iowa voters on four separate occasions about her Senate vote to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, she suspected a concerted attempt to foment the issue by a Democratic rival. She reprimanded questioner Randall Rolph for being a plant and then had to apologize when he insisted that his curiosity about her Iran policy was authentic. ABC's Kate Snow (subscription required) reflected on the exchange: "Tough talk on Iran is perceived by some Iowans as all too similar to the tough talk from Democrats in the run-up to the Gulf War."
NBC had David Gregory survey the state of the Republican Presidential field and Andrea Mitchell look at the Democratic side. Mitchell speculated that Iowa "could be the last chance" for Rodham Clinton's rivals "to stop her march towards the nomination." For Barack Obama, for example, finishing ahead of her in Iowa "is now everything." Why Iowa? "For all her money and campaign experience, Iowa is not an easy fit." Bill Clinton never competed in the caucuses and "Iowa's Democrats remain suspicious of her vote on the Iraq War."
As NBC promoted its sponsorship of a Republican CNBC debate on economic issues, Gregory cited his network's poll last week that showed an increasing proportion of Republican voters advocating change (48% vs 41% in May) as opposed to a continuation of the Bush Presidency. "Loyalty to an unpopular President can be costly…just ask john McCain, whose backing for the war hurt him," mused Gregory. On the other hand "Bush remains popular with the base." George Bush himself was asked whether he considered himself to be a drag on his copartisans. "A strong asset," was his reply.
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