Iowa picks; Dirty tricks in Iowa

The Nightly Build...

---

Iowa Picks

The polls in Iowa offer something for everyone. The political reporters on Trail Blazers announce their picks for winners of tonight's Iowa caucuses. Unsurprisingly, the picks are all over the board. As for me, I'll pick Romney and Clinton.

On the Republican side, it's Romney because he's got the money to buy an army of precinct workers to make sure every last Romney supporter in Iowa goes to the caucuses. Huckabee might do well in the opinion polls, but he simply doesn't have the money or organization to make sure that translates into flesh and blood supporters showing up at the caucuses.

On the Democratic side, it's harder to call. Clinton and Obama both have the money to fund a huge get-out-the-vote drive on caucus night. Edwards may trail in fundraising, but he makes up for it by having lived in Iowa the last four years, plenty of time to establish his own organization. I don't pick Edwards because he's been overshadowed by the Bill & Hillary and the Oprah & Obama road shows. There's not enough oxygen for Edwards, too. And I don't pick Obama because he's relying too much on new voters and independents. They may poll well, but they just don't show up at the caucuses. That leaves Clinton the winner. We'll know soon enough.

---

Tom Pauken, Dirty Trickster?

Tom Pauken takes one last potshot at Mitt Romney before the Iowa caucuses. Pauken reports that an anonymous letter was sent to pastors in Iowa warning them that their church's tax exempt status was at risk if the pastors campaign for Mike Huckabee. Pauken offers no evidence of any connection to the Mitt Romney campaign but insinuates as much with his headline, "Is Karl Rove Advising the Mitt Romney Campaign?" Not only does Pauken smear Romney, without evidence, by accusing him of dirty tricks, but he smears him again by association with the unpopular Karl Rove, again without evidence. A two-fer. Tom Pauken knows a thing or two about dirty tricks himself.