Talk about bad timing. <\/p>\n
Two new polls out of Iowa, the first ones we’ve seen in weeks, show a fairly close race going into the final full week of campaigning. An SUSA poll<\/a> still shows Dean in the lead, but with a significant drop from a month ago, and with Kerry and Edwards making big moves. All told, only 12 points separates first and fourth place. A Research 2000 poll<\/a> also showed a tight race, with Dean and Gephardt vying for the top spot.<\/p>\n Though both polls showed Dean with a lead in Iowa, yesterday’s news was not all good for the former Vermont governor. NBC News researchers went back<\/a> and took a look at some of Dean’s TV appearances on a show called “The Editors,” a roundtable political talk show aired in Canada and PBS stations in the U.S.<\/p>\n One of the things they found was Dean commenting negatively on the Iowa caucus system shortly before the Gore-Bradley vote in 2000.<\/p>\n “If you look at the caucuses system, they are dominated by the special interests in both parties,” Dean said. “[And] the special interests don’t represent the centrist tendencies of the American people. They represent the extremes. And then you get a president who is beholden to either one extreme or the other, and where the average person is in the middle.”<\/p>\n Dean added, “Here’s what happens: Say I’m a guy who’s got to work for a living, and I’ve got kids and so forth. On a Saturday, is it easy for me to go cast a ballot and spend 15 minutes doing it, or do I have to sit in a caucus for eight hours? \u2026 I can’t stand there and listen to everyone else’s opinion for eight hours about how to fix the world.”<\/p>\n In fairness, I don’t really think Dean said anything particularly outrageous or incongruous with his campaign remarks so far in criticizing the influence of “special interests.” He’s frequently talked about rejecting special interests on the far left and far right, so there’s nothing shocking there.<\/p>\n But the problem for Dean is the specific criticism of the caucus system itself. If there’s one thing Iowa voters don’t like, it’s out of state politicians criticizing their system. Going after the caucuses is like going after ethanol — not a good move. Not surprisingly, the statement didn’t actually have anything to do with responding to his 2000 criticisms of the caucuses.<\/p>\n Predictably, Dean’s Iowa rivals jumped on this, with Gephardt, among others, calling Dean’s remarks “unbelievable.”<\/p>\n Perhaps more importantly, Iowa Democratic leaders, who are neutral among the presidential candidates, also reacted negatively to Dean’s 2000 criticism.<\/p>\n “The governor believes the Iowa caucuses remain a good proving ground for candidates as they take their messages into living rooms and around kitchen tables of real people,” said Amanda Crumley, spokeswoman for Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D).<\/p>\n Gordon Fischer, the state’s Democratic chairman, also disagreed with Dean, saying, “The Iowa caucuses are dominated by regular Iowans who are concerned about bread and butter issues that all Americans care about.”<\/p>\n
\n
\nIt sounded like Dean’s campaign had no idea how to respond to this revelation, at least at first. Dean told the AP<\/a>, “I have spent nearly two years here in Iowa, talking to Iowans and campaigning in all 99 counties. I believe it’s time to stand together, in common purpose, to take our country back and the Iowa caucus is where it all begins.”<\/p>\n