Obama's Chicago-style plan doesn't play in Iowa
WASHINGTON -- A Barack Obama campaign plan to encourage Iowa college students who are not from Iowa to caucus for him Jan. 3 -- especially those from neighboring Illinois -- was spanked Saturday by Iowa's leading political columnist.
While a scheme to make local someone from out of state (or from another district or ward) is business as usual in Chicago -- textbook Illinois and Chicago politics -- someone raised without a Chicago political sensibility may find this tactic offensive. It backfired into a negative column from Iowa's influential David Yepsen of the Des Moines Register.
(AP)
(AP)
In a column headlined "The Illinois Caucus," Yepsen writes, "No presidential campaign in memory has ever made such a large, open attempt to encourage students from out of state, many of whom pay out-of-state tuition, to participate in the caucuses. No other campaign appears to be doing it in this campaign cycle."
The Chris Dodd Iowa campaign sent out a news release with the headline "New politics shouldn't be about scheming to evade spirit of caucuses," and the Clinton Iowa campaign was also circulating the Yepsen column.
The Obama campaign had no on-the-record response.