While shoppers may swarm the stores today looking for after-Christmas bargains, seven presidential candidates are storming through the state trying to seal the deal with Iowa voters. Just eight campaign days remain before Caucus night and all three of the top Democrats in the race for the White House have been critiquing their opponents’ records.
For example, Barack Obama’s review of rival Hillary Clinton’s record on health care reform has intensified. During a recent stop in Indianola, Obama talked about the effort Hillary and Bill Clinton made in the 1990s on health care reform "They went behind closed doors to try to come up with their plan. They wouldn’t even invite some of the members of congress in their own party to participate in formulating the plan, much less the American people," Obama said Sunday in Greenfield. "So what ended up happening was by the time they released their plan, the insurance lobby had already had its p.r. campaign convincing the American people that this was socialized medicine and government was going to be meddling in medicine and choosing your doctor for you, so people became opposed to it and it died."
A union which supports Clinton has begun airing radio ads critical of Obama, on Clinton’s behalf.
During a weekend appearance on Iowa Public Television, John Edwards seemed to suggest Clinton’s negatives and Obama’s race would be a drag on the Democratic ticket if either wind up being the party’s presidential nominee. "I am the candidate who can go into the general election, win this election…not only put a Democrat in the White House but strengthen Democratic numbers in the House and the Senate because I can campaign every place in America on behalf of Democrats who are running for congress," Edwards said.