Summary

NAME: US CAMPAIGN 20071230I TAPE: EF08/0004 IN_TIME: 10:11:06:03 DURATION: 00:02:59:02 SOURCES: ABC DATELINE: Iowa - 30 Dec 2007 RESTRICTIONS: No Access NAmerica/Internet SHOTLIST Knoxville, Iowa 1 US Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama being introduced to crowd at Knoxville Middle School 2 SOUNDBITE (English) Barack Obama, US Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful: We can't wait to provide good jobs and good wages, and a pension that people can count on We cannot wait to fix our broken schools We cannot wait to overhaul climate change And we cannot wait to bring this war in Iraq to a close We cannot wait Columbus Junction, Iowa 3 Anne Romney introduces her husband at Strong America bus stop at Columbus Junction Civic Center 4 SOUNDBITE (English) Mitt Romney, Republican presidential hopeful: I want to add a hundred thousand troops to the military I want them to have better equipment and I know that's going to cost some money And I want our veterans to have better care when they come home So my campaign is about strengthening America, in our military to keep us safe, in our economy to keep us prosperous, and in our homes to make sure our kids get the values they need to overcome the new generation of challenges we face 5 Wide shot of audience clapping, shaking hands with Romney Vinton, Iowa 6 SOUNDBITE(English) Hillary Clinton, US Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful: We need a new beginning in America We need a new beginning If we could re-start the 21st century, I think we'd all vote to do it But since we can't, we need to start January 20th, 2009 7 Wide shot of Clinton shaking hands and greeting crowds after speech at Corinthian Baptist Church in Des Moines, IA Carroll, Iowa 8 Wide shot of audience at Carroll High School clapping for Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards during Countdown to Caucus event 9 SOUNDBITE (English) John Edwards, Democratic presidential hopeful: I believe that on a cold January night, in the heartland of America, right here in Iowa, this Thursday night, you're gonna stand up You're gonna say 'enough is enough We are rising up We're going to take this democracy back We've had enough We are not going to have the promise of America stolen from our children We are not going to let this corporate greed continue in this country we love so much' And you're going to stand up and speak up and rise up and you're going to start a tidal wave of change STORYLINE With the Iowa caucuses drawing near, US presidential contenders have been delivering their closing messages to voters across the state Much is at stake - Iowa kicks off the election process Thursday with Democratic and Republican caucuses that could propel two candidates to the nomination As six candidates took their closing messages to morning talk shows, Democrat Barack Obama acknowledged that the criticism directed at him might be taking a toll Headed into the final days of the closest caucuses in a lifetime, public and private polls suggested that Obama, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and former North Carolina Sen John Edwards were locked in a three-way tie for the lead The Democratic winner will be hard to stop, especially if it's a well-funded Clinton or Obama On the Republican side, Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee - an ordained Baptist minister - called rival Mitt Romney a dishonest politician who could not be trusted with the presidency, turning up the heat in a close-and-getting-closer Republican race in Iowa A new poll of the Republican race in Iowa suggested that Huckabee's surprise surge in Iowa may have stalled - his lead over Romney evaporated Romney is fighting on two fronts, hoping to defeat Huckabee in Iowa and McCain in New Hampshire to vault himself to the nomination, and is grappling with the perception by some that he is too calculating A Mason-Dixon poll put Romney at 27 percent and Huckabee at 23 percent in Iowa, both trailed by McCain, Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul The polls had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points The Iowa precinct caucuses are the crucial first contest in the political parties' state-by-state process of selecting presidential nominees Candidates who do well in the caucuses, and in the New Hampshire primary five days later, can gain momentum, establishing themselves as front-runners Those who do poorly often decide to drop out of the race The caucuses - simultaneous meetings held at 1,784 locations statewide - begin the process of selecting delegates to the party national presidential nominating conventions in August and September But the nominees could be apparent well before then, based on the number of delegates amassed in the primaries and caucuses