Ready...Set...

Sunday, January 1
Meet the Press
David Gregory, interviewer
NBC

January 1, 2012 and it is officially Election Year. With the Iowa cause two days away, Gregory sat down with Chuck Todd, the NBC political director, and Matt Strawn, Iowa GOP Chairman. They decided that the outcome of the Iowa Caucus is undecided. There are many factors that can greatly sway participants. Strawn says that if the weather is mild, or at least nonthreatening, the senior citizen community will be well represented, but if it is bitterly cold or stormy, many senior citizens will stay home. Todd thinks that the speeches at the beginning of the caucus will decide much of the vote. Romney is currently ahead in the polls with the support of 24% of polled persons, but his supporters tend to be less enthusiastic than those of Paul and Santorum. While Romney might be the reason that 24% makes it to a precinct, it is very likely that they will be swayed by the speeches. Although Santorum has come out of nowhere, Todd and Strawn agree that he has gained a solid base of support and that his 21% will be less prone to drifting away. Gregory asked his guests to consider Santorum, a new front runner, but distinctive. Santorum has focused much of his advertisement money on promoting his electability. At the end of the day (or six months of brutal primaries) Republicans want a candidate who can beat Obama. Santorum is marketing himself as the man for that job. However, Strawn raised the concern that Santorum is not conservative enough for the current Republican party and the direction it is headed. This does not seem to be a major concern for Iowa voters, as Santorum is front-runner in the most recent polls. Concluding this final preliminary discussion, the group discussed Iowa's roll in the GOP Primary. Strawn, Iowa's Chairman of the GOP, naturally defends the Iowa Caucus as a significant aspect of the GOP Primary. He does not go as far as to say it decides the primary, but Strawn points out that whichever candidate has won the Iowa Caucus, has also won the primary. Gregory argues that the population of Iowa is similar to that of Pomona, California, and having the majority there is negligible. Looking at the numbers alone, winning or loosing in Iowa does not make or break a campaign, but it does, however stealthily, set the tone. Iowa is important because it is first and in thing primary, with such a mercurial cast, momentum is going to be vital. Let the race begin!


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/#45839916