I’m with Ezra Klein: Rick Santorum doesn’t owe his Iowa success to old-fashioned retail politicking. If pressing the flesh at hundreds of events across 99 counties is the path to victory in Iowa, why was Santorum such a nonfactor until the race’s closing days? Do Iowans keep their stirring love for grassroots heroes a secret until the …
In the Arena2012 Election
The Iowa Results: The Few, The Chickenhawks, The Republicans
120,000.
In 2008, with conservatives embarrassed and demoralized by 8 years of George W. Bush as President, about 120,000 Iowans attended the Republican caucus (compared to 230,000, almost twice as many, Democrats in a state where the parties have roughly equal numbers registered). In 2012, with a party mobilized and seething over the …
Santorum’s Path To and From Iowa
Johnston, Iowa
For most of the 2012 campaign, Rick Santorum struggled to be heard. He groused about his share of time in the debates, was hard to find on television chat shows and couldn’t afford advertising. But his …
How Michele Bachmann’s Faith—and Gender—May Have Cost Her a Shot at the Nomination
After finishing second-to-last in Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses, Michele Bachmann announced Wednesday morning that she will suspend her race for the White House. Five months ago, the three-term Minnesota Congresswoman led the GOP …
Obama to Recess Appoint Cordray to Consumer Bureau
President Obama is reportedly planning to name Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a recess appointment today, which means the drawn-out Congressional standoff over Cordray’s nomination to …
Behold: What One of Those Caucus Thingies Actually Looks Like
TIME’s photoblog was on the scene Tuesday in Iowa and has the stop-motion footage and jaunty jazz track to prove it:
Changing of the Guard: National Guard Joins Joint Chiefs
I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member.
The sentiment is usually attributed to Groucho Marx, but as of this week it works for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, too.
That’s because when President Obama signed the 2012 defense bill on New Year’s Eve, the new law ordered Air Force General …
Standing 8 Count: Romney Squeaker Tests the Media’s Math Skills
[youtube=http://youtu.be/YH8DWF2G5_g]
Eight people in Iowa are the most important figures in American politics this morning, and I don’t mean the ones who are running for President. The eight folks who provided Mitt Romney’s margin of victory in the Iowa caucus—apparently in somewhere Clinton County (above)—may not have …
Morning Must Reads: Eight
- Eight votes, people. Eight.
- Winning ugly’s still winning. For Romney, so’s tying.
- Some lessons for Republicans out of Iowa. One reason to worry.
- John McCain will endorse Romney today, reports Internet cat digest.
Santorum Investment Advice, Then and Now
I’m on leave writing a book about my beloved stimulus, but when I heard about Rick Santorum’s big finish in Iowa, it reminded me: Didn’t someone advise Swampland readers to invest in Santorum back in May when Intrade was giving him a 0.5% chance to win the nomination, because “that’s going to rise as the campaign starts heating up in …
Eight Votes in Iowa: Where the Race Goes from Here
When the bean counters finished tabulating the results from the 1,774 precincts that decide the Iowa caucuses, eight votes separated the victor, Mitt Romney (30,015) from the runner-up, Rick Santorum (30,007). Marvel at that for …
Q&A: Ron Paul, Iowa’s Third-Place Finisher
Before his bronze-medal finish in Tuesday’s Iowa caucus, TIME spoke with Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul about his libertarian message, the campaign that lies ahead and whom he could support in the general election. A …
Battle for Iowa: The Final Days of the Caucus Campaign in Photos
TIME captures candidates and potential caucusgoers in action as Iowa prepares for its first-in-the-nation Republican presidential contest.