Before 2000 if anyone were asked what a chad was, they would most likely answer that “chad” was the name of an actor on a show about doctors or the guy next door that took their daughter to the homecoming. After Florida, most people became aware of hanging, dimpled, and pregnant chads. This great revelation was due to the closeness of the presidential race. Chads have been around for as long as there have been punch cards. It took a close race to bring them onto the American forefront of debate.

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Sherrod Brown talks with Talk Radio News Service Bureau Chief Ellen Ratner about the upcoming Ohio primaries and the issues that voters in his state are concerned with.

 

 Interview with Sherrod Brown : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Check out more Iowa photos on Flickr!

I am reading/watching up on the final pre-caucus statements by the candidates. Fred Thompson posted at 17-minute video on YouTube. It’s a little too “fireside chat” and a little to dry for anyone but the staunches Fred fans to want to watch all the way through. Huckabee is leveling three Ds against Romney calling him “desperate, dishonorable and dishonest,” showing that the weirdly humorous Huck can throw an Edwards-like punch too.

Speaking of Edwards, much is being made over his quick response phone call to Pakistan President Pervez Musharif last Thursday. Though it appears from a run down of his recent rally Q&A that all he wants to do now is talk about Pakistan. Guiliani is saying a lot by what he is not saying in Iowa on caucus night. All but abandoning the caucus Rudy announced that he was going to be in Florida on January 3rd.

Clinton supporters, particularly Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio are feeling a little green over the superstar status of Iowa. Strickland told the Columbus Dispatch that Iowa’s primacy “makes no sense.” Clinton’s campaign backed her away from those remarks. The Ron Paul camp is talking with its wallet as the Wall Street Journal reports $19 million in the war chest in the last quarter alone.

I witnessed a small but enthusiastic statement on my way to downtown this morning on the corner of Ingersoll and Martin Luther King as a seven or eight Chris Dodd supporters hopped around with their signs in the cold. Another statement I have been able to witness personally was a Richardson campaign rally yesterday. The governor said, in a rather honest assessment of his campaign that he was within striking distance of the top three.

McCain’s latest video is a response to Romney’s attacks on his immigration policy. In less than 30 seconds he lays down a bland message about border security and says, “I’ll always be straight with you.” Biden is looking for a “ticket out of Iowa” in order to get more press coverage.

Here’s a great explanation on the polls, the most buzz worthy of which will come out tomorrow morning in the Des Moines Register.