Radio Iowa

Huckabee on praying, blasphemy & private clubs

The big Huckabee story today was this.

I had a chance to ask Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee a few questions on other topics this afternoon.  We sat on two folding chairs in a barren room in his campaign headquarters in downtown Des Moines.  Outside that room were dozens of campaign volunteers, many children, making phone calls to Iowans on Huckabee's behalf.

My first question was about something Huckabee said Sunday after emerging from church.  He told reporters he had prayed for "strength for the weak."  I asked for clarification, to determine whether he meant "weak" or "week."

"That was both," Huckabee said in reply.  "It was for all of the strength that I needed for this week because it is definitely a busy time.  I kind of live every day with some serious level of sleep deprivation and, you know, I get energized by going out there and talking to the people who are working so hard for us and I realize that the campaign is no longer about me.  It really is about people who feel such ownership.  That's why I think a lot of folks don't understand why we're doing so well not just here but across the country.  Walk out there and talk to those folks.  You'll get the picture."

If you're following the campaign, you've no doubt heard about Huckabee's foreign policy article in which he was critical of the Bush Administration.  I asked Huckabee if he had been "blasphemous" about Bush. (We had just been talking about praying, hence the transition to a word like "blasphemous.")

"No I don't think I was," Huckabee replied.  "In fact, I don't think I've said anything that other candidates haven't said.  (I) maybe said it in more descriptive words, but I've been supportive of Bush as anybody -- on the war, on the surge, on his tax cuts. You know I'm not a late-arrival to that.  I've had great respect for the president in keeping us safe.  I think I've expressed that but I think it's also a responsibility for a candidate for president to talk about where you are different, where you would be different.  I'm not running for the third term of President Bush."

A message from the Des Moines International Airport

This just into the newsroom -- an advisory from Roy Criss and Gary Hagan out at the airport (bold typeface added by yours truly):

Des Moines International Airport (DSM) officials, in cooperation with all Airport tenants (TSA, car rental companies, airlines, parking, and customer assistance companies) are reminding all Central Iowa air travelers that January 4 & 5 will be extremely busy departure days at DSM.

An estimated 2,000 rental cars will be returned those days and approximately 50% more people will be departing from the Airport than on a typical day. It is important that travelers remember the following:

* Check Airline/Airport information systems to ensure flight status         before leaving home.
* Pack and dress carefully so you do not cause a delay at security screening.
* Arrive at the Airport two hours before scheduled departure.
* Pay close attention to all signage.
* Have a government-issued photo ID ready with your ticket information.
* Above all, be patient.

Many national and international media personnel will be attempting to leave Central Iowa. It will take the cooperation of everyone to ensure this happens efficiently and that the nation gets a good picture of the capability of Central Iowans.

A little intrigue

WHO TV's political reporter, Dave Price, is reporting something a little intriguing -- that some Clinton campaign insiders tell him Hillary Clinton may not be in Iowa on Caucus Night.

Price interviewed Clinton today and posted this exchange on his blog:

Dave: "On caucus night, I've heard from some in your campaign who say you will have to go to New Hampshire early. Some say you will be here. Will you be here on caucus night?"

Clinton: "Well, my plan is to be here on caucus night. It's certainly what I'm planning to do. I want to think, you know, the Iowans who have supported me, so many have volunteered for me, everybody who caucused for me, everyone who went through the trouble to drive somebody else there...I just want to thank Iowans for everything they've done for me the past year."

Your 7:32 p.m. update:  Clinton campaign spokesman Mark Daley emails the following: "YES she will be here."  (Capitalization NOT added by me.) 

Obama on the bus

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama called into the Radio Iowa newsroom this afternoon as he was riding in his campaign bus from Knoxville to Newton.

"This is going to be a very close election, but if we go into caucus with the same enthusiasm and energy we see out here, we think we're going to do very well," Obama said to open the call.

Henderson:  "It seems as if both you and your wife are trying to impress upon people that this is your time and you will not run for president again.  Are you doing that to address the 'he's too young' argument and to make clear you are no Al Gore circa 1988?"

Obama:  "The point we've been trying to make is that the reason I'm running now is because I believe I have the skills to lead the country now. I think what we desperately need is somebody who can bring the country together, somebody who can push against the special interests in Washington, somebody who is straight with the American people, who has a bias for inviting the American people into the conversation as opposed to excluding them from decision-making and that's what I offer, so I think that I am the person best able to deliver on health care reform, best able to have a strong energy policy, best able to chart a new course and a new direction in our foreign policy and, you know, who knows where I'll be years from now but I know that I'm ready to lead today."

Henderson:  "On Meet the Press, you suggested that you might consider running again, you kind of hinted at..."

Obama:  "No, Kay.  Let me say this:  we haven't even had the Iowa Caucuses yet (Obama laughs).  The main circumstance that I plan to run again is for re-election as president of the United States."

Diner drop in

I just did my own diner drop-in this morning.  No candidate in sight, but a bunch of people who wanted to eat breakfast.  It was a Sunday-laid-back atmosphere in the Dahl's deli on 35th and Ingersoll (we who live here like to call it the Inger-Dahl's).  A few people clearly were there after attending church.  Others seemed to be getting their Sunday morning breakfast as a revival for their late Saturday night.

The diner has three horse-shoe-shaped counters.  The two women sitting opposite me were talking about people in their life -- no discussion of politics.  The couple sitting next to them were the just-out-of-church sort who sat quietly, chatting to one another as they waited for their order.  The young couple on the end was pouring over this morning's Des Moines Register, discussing the Democrats.  The two women sitting next to me took the same paper and had a conversation with Bonnie, the waitress, about Joe Biden.  He apparently is very good looking in person, according to the conversation I overheard, and "more our age."  The discussion settled on the age factor. 

"He was born in 1942," one woman read aloud from the newspaper.  "That makes him in his 60s," the other said.  The discussion then veered to how being president seems to age all the men who have held the office, and it was decided Biden might lose his charming looks were he to be elected president.

Mitt Romney on Iowa finish, ads

I had an opportunity to chat by phone with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney this afternoon as he rolled from one Iowa town to another in his campaign bus.

Henderson:  "Given the thrust and parry on the advertising front of late -- what is the outcome of that?  Is this a voter-suppression effort?"

Romney:  "You know, the advertising on my part, of course, has gone on for a long, long time to introduce people to me.  I was not well known.  Frankly, I think people wondered about anybody coming from Massachusetts so I've had to overcome the perception of that liberal state and more recently talked about issues and I think issues are critical.  I think it's been important for me to point out the differences on key issues between myself and, you know, the other leading contender here -- Mike Huckabee, which is we have very differing views and track record as related to illegal immigration and to spending and taxation and those that will -- of course also crime and pardons and commutations and those differences, I think, are important for people to understand."

Anti-Obama call from New York?

It happened yesterday.  I was sitting at my desk in the Radio Iowa newsroom and a colleague forwarded a call to my extension.  I did not tape record the conversation, nor did I type out notes.  I hastily scratched a few notes by hand on a piece of paper and now present to you my recollection of the moment.

"I'm calling because I wonder if your listeners know what Barack Obama's middle name is," was the entre to the brief conversation.  (If you don't know, it's the name Bob Kerrey apologized for using recently when referring to Obama.)

"Why?" was my one-word, first response.

The caller repeated his argument that Iowa radio listeners need to know Obama's middle name.

"I see in my caller ID box here on my phone that you are calling from New York.  Who are you?" I asked the man on the other end of the line.

"I'm the one that's supposed to be asking the questions," the man replied, then made another comment about Obama's middle name. 

"Who are you calling for?" I asked again, as the caller ID box merely said "New York" and did not show a number.  "How did you get my number?"

"Thank you for your time," the man, who had a heavy New York accent, replied and hung up.  (No, it was not Bob Kerrey.  He still has a Nebraska accent.) 

I was unable to track down the number for the call into our newsroom.  Who do you think is paying for that call?  Have you gotten one like it?

Fred Thompson aims at first or second in Iowa

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson chatted by phone with me yesterday (Thursday) and our primary discussion was about the situation in Pakistan.  Then, we moved on to talking about Thompson's Iowa campaign.

Henderson:  "Let's shift to realities on the ground here in Iowa.  I remember talking with you a couple of weeks ago and you said you were tickled that Iowans seem to be independent minded.  Do you find an opening here or are you sort of spinning the wheels of that bus?"

Thompson:  (Laughter)  "You know I haven't felt one spin since we've been on this bus trip.  I still feel the way I did, even more so, that there's no question a lot of people haven't made their mind up yet and we're gettin' good turn-outs.  We're gettin' good crowds.  We're gettin' good receptions and we're talking some of the things that you and I have just been talking about and that is the kind of world we live in.  I had an oportunity to visit that part of the world -- Pakistan and Afghanistan --  had an opportunity to sit down with Musharraf two years ago.  A lot has changed since then, but the things that are happening in the world are important to us and our national security.  If we can't secure our own people's safety, then none of these issues are going to matter to us much in the long run so we've been talkin' about that and askin' people to consider who they want representing them when these tough considerations have to be made. You know, I served on the Intelligence Committee.  I was the Republican floor leader for the passage of the Homeland Security bill.  I was called on by Condoleeza Rice when she wanted someone to head up an advisory board to advise her on security matters and I've had an opportunity to travel the world and meet friend and foe alike, leaders of these various countries -- including Musharraf, and I think I understand the kind of world that we live in and the need for strong leadership so, you know, nobody knows how these things are going to turn out, but I'm expecting a very good result.  I want a very good result.  I expect a very good result.  I need a very good result.  I'm not going to be satisfied with just a decent showing.  I want a good result in Iowa and if the people of Iowa think that I'm the guy, then they'll give me that."

Huckabee speaks to large "congregation" in WDM

It's about 7:10 p.m. on a Thursday and I'm seated in the back of a ballroom at a West Des Moines hotel (in the same room where Mitt Romney held a party for over 1000 supporters last week).  Republican presidential candidate/former Arkansas Governor/Baptist minister Mike Huckabee soon will be speaking here to a large group, already seated on chairs, in a "We the People" seminar that's being explained right now by someone who has the microphone in the front of the room.

"We should not be passive in terms of our government and in terms of the political process...we should take an active role in who we select," seminar leader Joe Markiezwicz is telling the crowd.  I went just outsdie the room, looking for a pamphlet about the seminar and found Huckabee campaign materials and a few Huckabee for president signs, but nothing about the "We the People" seminars. 

People keep strolling in, but right now at 7:35 p.m. it appears there are over 1300 people in the room.  By 7:40 p.m., Pastor Dan is on stage talking about the institution of marriage.  "Marriages should be and should remain between one man and one woman," he tells the crowd.   "...Marriage has been redefined here in Iowa.  Whether that definition holds up is now in the hands of seven unelected judges....Iowa could become a mecca for homosexual couples....As an Iowan I'm asking you to help me call for a marriage amendment to the constitution."

Huckabee got on stage at 8:39 p.m.  The crowd stood to applaud his entrance.  "You'd better be seated.  You'd be tempted to leave," Huckabee said, then he made reference to his introduction from a former southern state governor (not him).  "Let's pass the plates, man.  This is like church," Huckabee joked.  .

Huckabee then suggested a new Beattitude:  "blessed are the brief, for they shall be invited again."  The crowd laughed. 

Edwards responds to latest flap over 527s

Jake Tapper from ABC has a round-up on the latest flap here.  The New York Times story on this is here.