Democratic trio sprints toward finish line

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The trio of frontrunning Democratic presidential candidates did battle over undecided voters in concurrent campaign events here Tuesday night with 48 hours to go until Iowa’s much-anticipated first-in-the nation caucuses.

{mosads}After Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) packed the ballroom at a local convention center with upwards of 1,000 Iowa voters and at least a few from across the Nebraska border, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) brought a similar number of people to a school gymnasium about an hour later.

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) rounded out New Year’s Day with a late-night stop at his local campaign headquarters here. Hundreds of people, many of them forced to wait outside in 10-degree weather for an hour, chanted his name to keep warm and, upon the former senator’s arrival, ate up Edwards’s anti-corporate message.

Some of the undecided voters in this western Iowa city attended all of the back-to-back-to-back events. With less than two days to go until the first votes are cast, the Democratic race is too close to call with different polls showing each of the three candidates leading the pack.

Some at the Obama event walked in with stickers from the Clinton event, which was wrapping up just in time for many of them to make the 10-minute trip across town.

One voter who attended all three events is supporting Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) but was checking out each of the frontrunners as a second option if Biden does not reach the required viability at the caucuses.

Jeanne Trachta, a retiree from Council Bluffs who worked in higher education, said the options are almost all good at this point.

“I am just so thrilled that we have a field of candidates where they are all better than what we have right now” in the White House, she said after the Obama event. Trachta added that she liked Obama’s inspirational qualities and thought Clinton is polished. She used the word “calculating” in a positive light while describing the New York senator.

The intense nature of the late stages of the campaign was evident all night from the sizes of the crowds and the fervor of the people. The loud and enthusiastic supporters easily counter-balanced the hoarse-voiced candidates.

An Edwards supporter canvassed the parked cars at the Clinton and Obama events with flyers for the Edwards rally. One Clinton supporter showed up at the event and shouted Clinton’s name while Edwards supporters solicited honks from passers-by.

Trachta said she recently received seven glossy mailers from Clinton’s campaign in one day.

Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey (D) and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) attended Clinton’s event, where the former first lady defended criticism of her frequent mentions of her husband’s administration and the positive work it did.

Former President Bill Clinton has been campaigning hard for his wife, including in Des Moines on New Year’s Eve.

“It’s not like I’m talking about ancient Rome, I’m talking about what happened 10 years ago,” Sen. Clinton said. “And why am I doing it? Because I want Americans to know we aren’t helpless, we can solve these problems.”

Obama continued to push himself as the most electable candidate, calling out the Republican frontrunners by their first names and saying he can beat them all.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, a first-term Democrat in a historically red state, attested to Obama’s appeal to a broad range of independents and Republicans.

“Barack Obama is going to get Virginia’s electoral votes, and if he can get Virginia’s electoral votes, he can get a lot of electoral votes,” Kaine said.

Edwards was in the midst of a 36-hour non-stop bus tour of the state, which included appearances in the wee hours of the morning.

“When you’re willing to come out in incredibly freezing weather late at night … it shows what all of our commitment is to this,” he said.