Countdown To Caucus: The World Is Watching Iowa

With the Iowa caucuses just two days away, news coverage explodes and all eyes are on Iowa.

Newspapers around the country and around the world have front page stories, today, about the Iowa caucuses.  There is a massive magnifying glass on Iowa and its people.  Oh, and some are covering the candidates, too.

The London Times Online:  The Iowa Caucuses are front page news on both their local UK and global editions.  The global edition features an in-depth article on the Edwards rally on Saturday night, December 29.  Interestingly, they concentrate on his hiking boots and his haircut before getting to the issues covered.  But then, so did he.  It’s all about image and perception, and the author of this article did not miss that.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer:  The Iowa Caucuses are front page news here, as well, with several articles.  The most prominent article was written by Joel Connelly.  He takes a balanced, overall approach to describing the candidates and what each of their specific platforms seems to be.  Then he dives deeper.  Again, as a trend, John Edwards seems to be a stand out.

The San Francisco Chronicle:  Interestingly, the front page article on the Iowa Caucuses in this newspaper concentrates on the people as opposed to the candidates.  In an area with a reputation for being a bit “shallow” a lot of people might find that a bit of a surprise.  The writer, Carla Marinucci, interviewed several people in Winterset, Iowa, and gave a voice to their concerns.  One of the biggest concerns she concentrated had to do with money, layoffs, and the disappearing middle class.

The New York Times: The emphasis here is on how the Iowa Caucuses will impact New Year’s Eve!  I guess that is not a surprise coming from the city where the ball is lowered in Times Square to mark the new year every year!  To be fair, the article actually concentrates on the staff and volunteers who have run the campaigns for the candidates.  It addresses the timing of the caucuses and campaigns and how it makes enjoying the holidays difficult.  Not to mention the “thin and transparent… veneer of festivity.”  Such as Barack Obama celebrating the bringing in of the new year with his staff and volunteers…  via a conference call.

The New Zealand Herald:  This article concentrates on the numbers and how tight the race is.  It perceives Clinton and Huckabee to be the front-runners and quotes pollster John Zogby as saying the races are “too close to call.”

The Des Moines Register:  A search on the word “caucus” on the Des Moines Register’s website reveals 7 stories with today’s date.  The headlines range from campaign coverage to how the weather will be on caucus day.

The Concord Monitor:  And of course New Hampshire is watching, as they caucus soon as well.  Their front page is virtually all campaign coverage.  An article specifically mentioning the Iowa Caucuses concentrates mostly on funding.  John Edwards is saying that a win in Iowa could push campaign contributions sky-high.

Sources:
The London Times Online
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The San Francisco Chronicle
The New York Times
The New Zealand Herald
The Des Moines Register
The Concord Monitor