Reply #94: I thought I made that clear in my previous answer. [View All]

[Debi]

It would be difficult for me to support a candidate who chose not to run in the primary contest in Iowa. Kind of like Wes Clark or Joe Lieberman in 2004. They never came to Iowa, never asked for anyone's support, never allowed any interaction with potential caucus attendees so questions could be asked about their positions or potential policies (say that ten times fast!). (yes, they were part of the debate process - but most of those question/answers were SO canned that they didn't allow any actual information through - and heck, Lieberman even skipped one of those!!! Okay, the debate where all the other candidates attack Al Gore was pretty lively, but beyond that...:boring:)

It's like asking me to pick a name out of a hat and support that candidate on caucus night. I'd prefer to support a candidate that actually RAN for the position, asked for my support and gave me a reason to support them. (As you know, during a caucus people speak on behalf of their candidates - hopefully being educated about the candidate and passionate about the candidate, hard to do when you've never met the person or been able to ask questions about them beyond visiting a web site.)

If a candidate is interested in representing all 50 states as President, wouldn't they run in all fifty sates? And please don't compare this to Clinton in 1992 - Iowa does not have Tom Harkin running this year (and I Iowa caucus attendees realized their mistake in not inviting all candidates to campaign here back then). The IDP has invited all candidates running for President to come here, I hope to meet with and question all of them before making up my mind who to support.