Summary

NAME: US IOWA CAUC 4 20080104I TAPE: EF08/0022 IN_TIME: 10:17:10:17 DURATION: 00:05:00:10 SOURCES: AP TELEVISION/ABC DATELINE: Des Moines, 3 Jan 2008 RESTRICTIONS: Part No Access NAmerica/Internet SHOTLIST AP Television Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa - 3 January 2008 1 Wide of people gathering at a high school for the Democratic caucus 2 Pan of Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic President hopeful Barack Obama, arriving and is greeted 3 Obama posing with man AP Television Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa - 3 January 2008 4 Wide of hall, zoom into Precinct Captain, Greg Nicholson calling everyone to attention, UPSOUND: Ladies and gentlemen, sports fans of all ages welcome to the main event 5 Wide of Democrats gathered waiting for the vote to start AP Television Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa - 3 January 2008 6 Various as Nicholson points out where the various candidate groups are gathered, AUDIO: cheers AP Television Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa - 3 January 2008 7 Wide of Obama supporters 8 Mid of Obama supporters cheering 9 Hillary Clinton supporters chanting 10 Wide of people moving to the group of their chosen Democratic presidential candidate, AUDIO: cheers 11 Mid of official reading out vote results, UPSOUND: The final tally, with the number of delegates, will be 3 for Obama, 2 for Clinton, 2 for Edwards and 1 for Richardson ABC - No Access North America/Internet Des Moines, Iowa - 3 January, 2008 9 Democrats registering for caucus at Plymouth Congregational Church 10 Wide of people holding up their hands during voting 11 Wide of man counting people 12 Pan of people applauding 13 Tilt from Obama banner to Obama supporter 14 Clinton supporter holding banner 16 Wide of results screen at Polk centre showing Democratic candidates ABC - No Access No Access NAmerica/Internet Des Moines, Iowa - 3 January, 2008 17 Wide of Hillary Clinton arriving on stage, zoom in AUDIO: cheers 18 SOUNDBITE: (English) Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democratic presidential hopeful: Thank you, thank youthank you so so much Thank you, thanks everybody Well we are going to take this enthusiasm and right to New Hampshire tonight This is a great night for Democrats We have seen an unprecedented turnout here in Iowa and that is good news, because today we are sending a clear message that we are going to have change and that change will be a democratic president in the Whitehouse in 2009 19 Democratic presidential hopeful, John Edwards arriving on stage 20 SOUNDBITE: (English) John Edwards, Democratic presidential hopeful: The one thing that is clear from the results in Iowa tonight, is that the status quo lost and change won And now we move on We move on from Iowa to New Hampshire and the other states to determine who is best suited to bring about the changes this country so desperately needed Because what we have seen here in Iowa, is we've seen two candidates who thought their money would make them inevitable, but what the Iowa caucus goers have shown is that if you are willing to have a little backbone, to have a little courage, to speak for the middle class, to speak for those who have no voice, if you are willing to stand up to corporate greed that message and the American people are unstoppable no matter how much money is spent 21 Edwards with family on stage STORYLINE Senator Barack Obama, bidding to become the first black president of the United States, won the Iowa caucuses on Thursday night, defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton in the crucial opening test in the race for the 2008 Democratic nomination Obama, 46 and a first-term US senator from Illinois, eased past a high-powered field that included Clinton, a senator and the wife of former President Bill Clinton He also beat former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, the party's 2004 vice presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, unbowed by a third-place finish, hailed a great night for Democrats and said the strong turnout pointed for sure to the election of a Democratic president in November The former first lady, who had once held a commanding lead in polls here, congratulated caucus winner Senator Barack Obama and the second-place finisher, former Senator John Edwards She promised cheering supporters she would take this enthusiasm and go right to New Hampshire tonight which holds its primary on January 8 Speaking to supporters after the results Edwards said that the one thing that is clear from the results in Iowa tonight, is that the status quo lost and change won Obama, who campaigned as an apostle of change in Washington, was gaining 36 percent support among Democrats Edwards, who ran promising to battle the special interests in the capital, and Clinton, who stressed her experience, both were drawing around 30 percent Obama now has fresh momentum going into Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, where he and Clinton have been locked in a tight race In the Republican race, Mike Huckabee, a Baptist preacher turned politician, rode a wave of support from evangelical Christians to victory Huckabee handily defeated Mitt Romney despite being outspent by tens of millions of dollars Just months ago, Huckabee was virtually unknown outside Arkansas, where he had served as governor He was winning 34 percent support, compared to 25 percent for Romney Fred Thompson, an actor and former senator, and Senator John McCain battled for third place The defeats are major setbacks for Clinton and Romney, both of whom had long been front-runners in Iowa The Iowa and New Hampshire contests launch an intense, five-week period that will culminate in more than two dozen contests on February 5 With President George W Bush, a Republican, constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, both parties had wide-open, costly campaigns While most states hold primary elections, Iowa's caucuses are a series of simultaneous evening meetings held in nearly 1,800 precincts across the frigid northwestern state Obama and Clinton each sought to make history, he the most viable black presidential candidate in history, she a former first lady bidding to become the first female president Edwards battled them to a standstill, fighting to improve on the second-place finish in the 2004 caucuses that was good enough to land him the vice presidential slot on the Democratic ticket Their rivals, Senators Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Joseph Biden of Delaware; Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico; and Ohio Rep Dennis Kucinich, got little to show for their efforts, and it seemed possible the field would grow smaller before New Hampshire votes on Tuesday The caucuses determine which candidates Iowa delegates will support at presidential nominating conventions Those conventions are in August and September, although nominees probably will be determined well before then Although Iowa, with a small population, has relatively few delegates at the conventions, its caucuses often have served as springboards for the winning candidates, establishing them as front-runners and providing a wave of media coverage and leading to fresh campaign contributions That was the reason the crowded field of presidential hopefuls devoted weeks of campaigning, built muscular campaign organisations and spent millions of dollars on television advertising in the state