Iowa Heats Up

The first official round of the 2008 primary season begins tomorrow night in Iowa, where caucus attendees will select their favorite candidates.  For Republicans in Iowa, o ne of the biggest issues is illegal immigration .  McCain is forever branded as pro-amnesty, whereas Giuliani, Thompson, Huckabee, and Romney have all been talking tough in an attempt to look conservative.  Remember, in a previous blog I posted the results of a policy analysis from NumbersUSA that showed the best two Republican candidates on the issue:
1. Duncan Hunter
2. Fred Thompson

On the Democrat side, it appears that the major candidates have essentially the same platform ( i.e. raise taxes, universal everything, lose Iraq, grant amnesty), so the key is who can deliver the changes they feel are needed after Bush leaves office.  Here's a nice, tight summary:

To Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, it takes experience in the policy trenches of Washington to effect the shifts in health care, economic and foreign policies that Democratic voters are demanding of their president. To Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, that kind of experience is a hindrance, not a help, because exposure to the policy elites diminishes creativity and creates ties to the status quo that are not easily broken. And to former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, experience is beside the point. Change comes through a passion for battle.

With the poll results bouncing all over the place, there's really no predicting what will happen with high confidence.  While the media may jump all over the results as being an indicator of the entire rest of the election process (depending on how the people they like fare), keep in mind that this is just one state, and that it will only be a few thousand people voting.  Regardless, it should be interesting to watch.

There's my two cents.