Nur, um mal ein bisschen Stimmung zu machen für die Zahlen heute Nacht: Der letzte Poll des Des Moines Register hat unter Polit-Junkies einen regelrecht legendären Ruf; Obamas oberster Wahlkampfstratege erinnert sich in seinem Buch über den Wahlkampf 2008:
Back at the office, our press staff kept refreshing the Register website. The Register poll never, ever leaks -- which is very rare with polls -- nor does the paper's staff send it out to the campaigns a few minutes before they post it on their site. Everyone gets the results at the same time. I was told later that throughout the evening hundreds of thousands of people across the country were frantically hitting refresh on their browsers to update the Des Moines Register website.
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/12/31/the_biggest_poll_of_the_campaign_se ason.html
MSNBC hat sich mit Leuten unterhalten, die an Wahlkampfveranstaltungen teilnahmen: Viele seien immer noch unschlüssig. Die Angst vor einem Triumph Ron Pauls nutze Romney, der aber von vielen eher als das kleinere Übel gesehen werde:
After talking to Iowa Republicans at Romney and Rick Perry events in the Hawkeye State, you realize that there are still A LOT of undecided voters. They like many of the candidates, and wish they could take the good aspects of each and make into the perfect nominee -- Romney’s business experience, Perry’s straight-talking persona, Santorum’s strong conservatism, Bachmann’s fighting spirit, and Gingrich’s intellect and grasp of history. Most of those who spoke with First Read have it down to two or three. Those thinking about voting for Romney are concerned about a Paul win or the chances of beating Obama in November, but there isn’t a lot of enthusiasm for him (even though he’s getting big crowds). For those thinking about Perry or Santorum, they like their values. And for the people who were once leaning toward Gingrich, they are now pushing away. At both the Perry and Romney events, Iowans said he has too much “baggage” and has “spent too much time in Washington.” (Sounds like those attack ads resonated, no?)
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/31/9852771-first-thoughts-three-day s-to-go
EDIT: Um mal einen Eindruck zu bekommen, wie Wahlkampf in Iowa abläuft und warum ausgerechnet Santorum in den Umfragen gerade ne gute Figur macht, hier mal ein Überblick über den Wahlkampf aller Kandidaten heute. Man sieht: Santorum ist wirklich unermüdlich, und das eigentlich schon seit einem Jahr. Wär nicht mein Ding:
Today in Iowa
Newt Gingrich
When: December 31, 2011, 9:00 a.m.
Where: Tish’s Restaurant, 1207 S 35th St, Council Bluffs
What: Jobs and Growth bus tour stop, meet and greet.
Rick Perry
When: December 31, 2011, 10:30 a.m.
Where: Bloomers on Central Gourmet Coffee and Gift Shoppe, 900 Central Ave, Fort Dodge
What: Meet and greet in Fort Dodge.
Rick Perry
When: December 31, 2011, 12:45 p.m.
Where: The Gigglin’ Goat, 628 Story St, Boone
What: Meet and greet in Boone.
Rick Santorum
When: December 31, 2011, 1:00 p.m.
Where: Indianola Public Library, 207 N B St, Indianola
What: Meet and greet in Indianola.
Newt Gingrich
When: December 31, 2011, 1:30 p.m.
Where: Atlantic Bottling Company, 4 E 2nd St, Atlantic
What: Atlantic Bottling Employee Town Hall meeting.
Michele Bachmann
When: December 31, 2011, 1:30 p.m.
Where: Bachmann Campaign Headquarters, 2775 86th St, Urbandale
What: Bachmann will make get-out-the-vote phone calls with volunteers.
Rick Santorum
When: December 31, 2011, 2:00 p.m.
Where: National Sprint Car Museum, Knoxville
What: Santorum will visit the National Sprint Car Museum in Knoxville.
Rick Santorum
When: December 31, 2011, 3:00 p.m.
Where: Pella Public Library, 603 Main St, Pella
What: Meet and greet in Pella.
Mitt Romney
When: December 31, 2011, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Family Table Restaurant – Le Mars, 511 Hawkeye Ave SW, Le Mars
What: Romney meets with voters and discusses jobs and the economy.
Rick Santorum
When: December 31, 2011, 4:00 p.m.
Where: Smokey Row Coffeehouse, 109 S Market St, Oskaloosa
What: Meet and greet in Oskaloosa.
Rick Santorum
When: December 31, 2011, 5:00 p.m.
Where: Bridgeview Center, 102 Church St, Ottumwa
What: Santorum will host a New Year’s Eve rally in Ottumwa.
Mitt Romney
When: December 31, 2011, 5:35 p.m.
Where: Stoney Creek Inn, 300 3rd St, Sioux City
What: Romney will hold a Town Hall meeting in Sioux City.
http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/12/31/iowa-politics-insider-auld-lang -syne-edition/
