July 2007

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas marked a time-honored Republican presidential candidate tradition on Tuesday when he invited reporters and photographers out to a firing range in Ames, Iowa, to prove that he knows how to handle a weapon.

The media obliged, and we were there to get hit by some of the cast-off shells while he took aim with something just a bit more powerful than the single-shot hunting rifle he inherited as a child.

No animals -- or journalists -- were harmed in the making of this blog entry, but we did get a chance to ask him about the 2nd Amendment, and another intrepid reporter got him on the record about the "varmint" that has been going around chasing one of his rivals.

So keep reading.

If someone offered you "a tour of the U.S. Capitol," would you expect to get a guided tour of the building where Congress does its business, or a tour of the city where the U.S. government resides?

That's a key distinction that's at issue as Rep. Tom Tancredo's presidential campaign defends itself from anonymous charges alleging that it violated House of Representatives ethics rules with a July 14, 2007, letter to supporters.

It's a complicated controversy, so read the "Full entry" below.

UPDATE: The Associated Press followed-up on the Capitol/capital story HERE. Plus, IowaPolitics.com has a story HERE on Tancredo repeating his threats against Muslim holy sites.

UPDATED on Saturday.

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

There was no fighting it.

Sen. Barack Obama came to Adel, Iowa, on Friday afternoon, hoping to have a dialogue focused exclusively on issues affecting farm country and rural America as a whole.

But he seemed to know that the large gaggle of journalists hovering in the back of the audience wouldn't be satisfied unless he said something -- yet again -- about the controversy that has intensified all week: his rift with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton over diplomatic strategy.

So what the heck. Obama went with the flow, turning Clinton's questions about his experience into his ever-more-forceful call for change.

There's more, LOTS MORE, so continue reading the "Full entry" below...

So, of all these United States of America that terrorists could target, do you think Iowa is in the "top ten?"

One presidential candidate does.

And, as he told us in the Hawkeye State today:

"It's not just because of the primary, if that's what you're hinting at."

So who is it?

You'll have to click the "Full entry" below.

And if you're in Iowa looking for scented candles, bulk volumes of cotton balls, towels or good old fashioned home electronics, CLICK HERE instead.

UPDATED

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton got an unlikely ally this morning in her continuing conflict with Sen. Barack Obama over a question of diplomacy that emerged during the CNN/YouTube debate earlier this week.

"She's right on that. He happens to be wrong," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said of Clinton and Obama following his appearance at a crowded, downtown restaurant in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Romney's morning speech was filled with criticism of various Democrats, including Clinton. But he saved his harshest words for Obama over his debate answer saying that, as president, he would agree to meet with the leaders of such American adversaries as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela during his first year in the White House.

Clinton has pounced on that response, calling it "irresponsible and frankly naive" to make such a commitment, saying there's a danger of the president of the United States being used for "propaganda."

Sparring between Clinton and Obama has continued all week, including dueling newspaper interviews in Iowa, where the first caucus votes will be cast next January.

Obama reportedly has called it a "fabricated controversy," implying that Clinton wants to follow a diplomatic strategy that has failed under President Bush.

"The notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them -- which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration -- is ridiculous," Obama said, according to CNN.

But Romney told reporters this morning that he sides with Clinton on this particular question. He said there should be some contacts with adversarial nations, but that it would be wrong to "bestow the dignity of that office" on leaders like Kim Jong Il of North Korea, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela or Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Romney said Obama's statement is "outrageous, and suggests an agenda which is not in keeping with an agenda focused on building friendships with our allies, creating understanding with other nations. It's a wrong course and he should recognize it and change direction -- or simply be rejected."

It "does that mean we don't have any communications with those countries. Of course not," Romney said. "But a presidential contact is as ill conceived as having (House Speaker Nancy) Pelosi go to Syria. That was ill conceived, but having a president meet with the authoritiarain tyrants of the world is a remarkably poor judgment conclusion."

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor fired back at Romney this afternoon.

“Unlike Governor Romney and others, Senator Obama had the judgment to oppose the war in Iraq before it started," Vietor said. "Our next President can’t keep showing bad judgment by continuing the Bush-Cheney style of foreign policy and stubbornly refusing to talk to countries we don’t agree with.”

In Marshalltown, Romney was asked about this rare time he found agreement with Clinton, whom he and the other Republicans in the race frequently villify on the stump.

"If two Democrats are violently disagreeing with each other, I'm probably going to be on the side of one or the other," Romney said.

See the "Full entry" for an UPDATE.

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While AP photographer Charlie Neibergall was out getting exercise chasing former Sen. John Edwards and Lance Armstrong across Iowa...

...today I stayed glued to my office chair and sweated through a lively LIVE CHAT over at Rocky Talk Live with Mark Wolf.

We talked about the CNN/YouTube debate, the second-tier spat in the Republican presidential contest, the top-tier spat on the Democratic side, possible third-party candidates, vice-presidential picks and Lance Armstrong's little roll down the back roads to the White House.

CLICK HERE for a TRANSCRIPT. And then come back to the COMMENTS section and tell me how I really should have been out there getting some exercise. (I know, I know...)

We've added a noteworthy UPDATE to the bottom of Monday's item on the intensifying conflict between Sen. Sam Brownback and Rep. Tom Tancredo.

Now, a conservative icon, Phyllis Schlafly, is jumping into the fray.

If you're interested in this spat on the Republican presidential contest's second tier, CLICK HERE for the back story and the LATEST UPDATE.

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"In my mind and in my car
We can't rewind we've gone too far."

-- The Buggles

You win.

You wacky YouTube questioners didn't just take over our televisions and our computer screens last night. You also ate the front page of the Rocky Mountain News today.

It was every old-school talking head's worst nightmare, the moment when average folks rendered them obsolete -- if only for one night.

As the Rocky's Mike Pearson pointed out this morning, it was a moment to remember the Buggles, whose first-ever MTV "Video Killed the Radio Star."

So, whether this is a fad or not, we couldn't help but pay tribute to these Modern Day Buggles in the "Full entry."

Check it out, kids, and we'll see you tomorrow on the BACK ROADS.

"There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found..."

...because when CNN handed its debate agenda to a bunch of regular-folk, video questioners from YouTube, we got, among other things, a question on global warming from a frightened snowman.

Oh, there was so much more on Monday night. Reading the TRANSCRIPT HERE would never do the debate justice.

But we tried here at "Back Roads to the White House" by convening the "Colorado Coordinated Couchblog" once again, to provide live-action commentary as this very unconventional debate still was taking shape.

There's more, LOTS and LOTS and LOTS and LOTS MORE, so click the "Full entry" for a sampling of our all-star commentary. Or skip right to the COMMENTS section, reading from the bottom-up, to see how a lively discussion unfolded while the debate was still going on.

We do declare a winner, so read on...

UPDATED at the end of the "Full entry."
By the way, WE TOLD YOU this was a "rivalry to watch."

File photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer, in Odebolt, Iowa, July 14, 2007

The spat between Sen. Sam Brownback and Rep. Tom Tancredo kicked up a notch on Monday morning, with both sides firing new "distortion" charges at one another.

It's a fight taking place on the second tier of the Republican presidential contest, where Brownback and Tancredo are among a group of candidates still hoping to gain traction before the Aug. 11 Ames Straw Poll in Iowa -- a symbolic test of candidate support that's expected to winnow what's now a crowded GOP field.

For details, including an UPDATE on conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly entering the fray, click the "Full entry."

***LISTEN HERE***

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was near the end of a long day of Iowa barnstorming last Wednesday, when he set up shop in a school conference room and did a string of quick, back-to-back interviews before his day's last town hall meeting.

Earlier in the day, he had given a speech about the types of "strict constructionist" judges he said he would nominate as president. Afterwards, there was a lively, hallway exchange with reporters who wondered if he was trying to send a message to religious conservatives who otherwise might be wary of his support for abortion rights.

By the time I took my turn sitting at a table across from Giuliani, he was a man in a hurry -- anxious to finish his evening snack, wrap up this interview, get through his night's town hall meeting and get out to the streets for a downtown parade that one of the other reporters had told him about.

In between his long, but rapid-fire answers, I managed to ask just a few questions about his Republican rivals, the war, his view of the country since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and about those "strict constructionist" judges he said he plans to appoint.

Among other things, he suggested that he's not focused on differences with fellow Republican presidential contenders. Instead, he's already looking ahead to facing Democrats like Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards. And in the process, he's trying to link them to gonzo filmmaker Michael Moore, and a "European-Canadian-Cuban" health care plan that Giuliani already is equating to "socialized medicine."

Considering the interview's condensed time frame, Giuliani gave us a lot to digest. And he finished his dinner, too -- in time to be a surprise, late addition to that parade.

Click the "Full entry" for a TRANSCRIPT. Or, read another full story HERE from the folksy, folded version of the Rocky Mountain News.

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

It has been another busy week in the spotlight for Elizabeth Edwards, who stood up for her husband, former Sen. John Edwards and ended up in a bit of a spat with another prospective first-spouse, former President Bill Clinton.

It started when she told Salon.com that her husband would be a better advocate for women than Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Then the former president pushed back, defending his spouse.

National news outlets had a field day hyping the mini-spat, which could foreshadow some interesting conversation at the spouses breakfast before the Democratic debate on Monday in South Carolina.

On Saturday, we caught up with Mrs. Edwards at the farmers market in Des Moines, Iowa, and asked about a CNN commentator's suggestion that there be a separate, spouses-only debate.

She told us:

"I did debate in high school, I don't have any fear of talking about things. I don't think we're the issue. As long as people were talking about the policies of the candidates, that would be fine. Or maybe what we would do in the White House. But honestly, I think that there's maybe too much attention paid to the personalities of what basically was a surrogate. Although I'm game for almost everything, I think that would probably not be a great turn."

We told her she had better brace herself for the hype going into the spouses breakfast.

In that case, she quipped:

"I'm going to have to think more carefully about what I'm going to wear."

There's more, LOTS MORE, so keep reading the "Full entry" below.

View imagePhoto by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

We are slowing down today so we don't crash our campaignmobile in every journalist's least favorite town:

Correctionville, Iowa

Actually, it looked like a terrific little town, and if the townsfolk had been awake during our early-morning drive chasing some candidate between Sioux City and Waterloo, we might have stopped to ask if they have a sister city called Retractionburgh.

For political journalists who sometimes watch this blog, click the "Full entry" for more cautionary photos.

Otherwise, we're going to sit here and recover from yet another 600-mile, two-day candidate chase -- lest we report that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has only 11 commitments instead of 12. (Note to self: check spelling of "commitments" in the dictionary.)

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani chose western Iowa as the place to talk about the kinds of judges he would support -- strictly those he considers "strict constructionists," he said.

CLICK HERE for the first draft of history at RockyMountainNews.com.

Giuliani, starting two days of rare barnstorming across the first caucus state of Iowa, went out of his way to praise the four most conservative members of the current U.S. Supreme Court -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

"These are the kinds of judges I would appoint," he said, calling them "strict constructionists" who interpret, rather than re-write, the U.S. Constitution.

The term "strict constructionists" is one often used by religious conservatives who say they want judges who will overturn, among other past decisions, the landmark abortion rights ruling Roe v. Wade.

The national front-runner, who faces skepticism among some conservatives over his support for abortion rights, also praised judges appointed during his time serving in the Justice Department of former President Ronald Reagan.

That includes former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who, until her retirement, was seen as a pivotal swing vote whose presence on the court helped keep abortion rights in place.

Talking to reporters in Council Bluffs (the first of his four appearances of the day), Giuliani said he admires O'Connor "very, very much," but that he would pick Supreme Court justices in the mold of Roberts, Alito, Scalia and Thomas.

Reporters got more details in a hallway press conference after the event. FOR A TRANSCRIPT, click the "Full entry" below.

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LISTEN HERE to Rudy's new Iowa strategy.

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The national Republican front-runner, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, is going to try a new strategy to gain traction in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa.

He's going to show his face.

At the moment, he trails former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Iowa polls, thanks in part to Romney's television advertising bombardment and frequent visits to the Hawkeye State.

By contrast, Giuliani has made only one quick, in-and-out visit to Des Moines recently, and he's fighting a perception that he has conceded the traditional kick-off state -- ever since he, and later Sen. John McCain of Arizona, announced they would not compete in the non-binding Ames Straw Poll on August 11.

But while Romney is away on Wednesday (stumping in the conservative stronghold of El Paso County, Colorado) Giuliani is launching his first full-fledged, full-state barnstorming across Iowa on Wednesday and Thursday.

He's hitting some critical, conservative bastions -- Council Bluffs, Sloan, Le Mars and Sioux City -- and then heading east toward Fairbank, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Davenport.

We're ignoring a lit "check engine" light to provide bumper-to-bumper, chase-crew coverage. So watch this space at "Back Roads to the White House." And then, check out RockyMountainNews.com on Thursday to compare and contrast it with Romney's Colorado appearance.

Our pal, Woody Brosnan of The Albuquerque Tribune has THIS INTERESTING STORY today dissecting the campaign contributions of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

The fascinating, though not so surprising, revelation is that as a sitting governor, Richardson was able to rack up far more home-state contributions than any of the former governors in the presidential field: Republicans Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, Jim Gilmore of Virginia and even Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

There are other factors to consider, too, like Richardson's record-breaking glad-handing abilities, the fact that Republicans haven't been raising as much as Democrats in general, etc.

But still, it's a good reminder of how the benefits of office-holding can help offset the headaches of moonlighting between a government office and full-time campaign work.

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***UPDATED*** at the "Full entry."

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It's too late now, but there were kind words on Monday for the first man to drop out of the Republican presidential contest, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.

"Jim Gilmore had a very solid grasp of how to make sure that we protect our civil liberties in conducting actions against terrorists."

Those kind words came from a well-known, former Republican whose name we spotted in the fine print of long-shot Rep. Ron Paul's campaign contributor lists on Monday.

So, who is it?

That depends what the definition of the word "is" is.

Click the "Full entry" for our expanded interview to find out why this mystery donor, now a member of the Libertarian National Committee, still knows one Republican that he likes.

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

We thought we'd celebrate one of the high holy days on the election calendar, the Federal Election Commission's second-quarter campaign finance report filing deadline, with this photo from the streets outside a presidential candidate's event in Des Moines, Iowa, last week.

The Rocky's Burt Hubbard, has the story RIGHT HERE on how Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois is "on a roll" when it comes to collecting campaign cash from Colorado.

It mirrors what has been happening nationally.

Here's how much each candidate raised from Colorado donors in the second quarter (2Q) and first quarter (1Q) of the year:

DEMOCRATS:

Sen. Barack Obama:
2Q: $363,631; 1Q: $564,924

Gov. Bill Richardson:
2Q: $133,405; 1Q: $150,700

Sen. Hillary Clinton
2Q: $121,373; 1Q: $73,935

Former Sen. John Edwards
2Q: $35,912; 1Q: $77,850

Sen. Joe Biden
2Q: $33,340; 1Q: $10,600

Sen. Chris Dodd
2Q: $23,100; 1Q: $47,000

Rep. Dennis Kucinich
2Q: $2,200; 1Q: $3,618

Former Sen. Mike Gravel
2Q: $1,000; 1Q: $200

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REPUBLICANS:

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani
2Q: $176,810; 1Q: $108,401

Sen. John McCain
2Q: $176,108; 1Q: $82,965

Former Gov. Mitt Romney
2Q: $144,083; 1Q: $354,225

Rep. Tom Tancredo
2Q: $72,070; 1Q: $57,345

Rep. Ron Paul
2Q: $28,292; 1Q: $6,450

Sen. Sam Brownback
2Q: $15,320; 1Q: $5,350

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore
2Q: $2,300; 1Q: $2,300
(Note: Gilmore dropped out of the race on Saturday.)

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson
2Q: $1,250; 1Q: $11,500

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee
2Q: $850; 1Q: $7,900

Rep. Duncan Hunter
2Q: $155; 1Q: $9,350

"If I lose, I will lose on my own terms."
-- Sen. Joe Biden in Iowa on Friday.

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Believe it or not, the image above is one of the more lighthearted moments in Sen. Joe Biden's appearance in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday afternoon.

Long after the audience member above was coaxed into ending his religious filibuster, Biden ended his appearance at a Drake University/IowaPolitics.com forum by making a long, mea culpa statement of his own.

It was a detailed apology to backers of his campaign. He said he had let them down by being too focused on one day being president and not enough on all the things it takes to win the presidency.

Specifically, he said he was sorry that, until recently, he did not have an aggressive, national fundraising machine in place to counter front-runners like Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who have been raising tens of millions of dollars per quarter.

"Look, I've got to admit to you one thing. I thought a lot more about what I would do as president, than how to get elected president. I'm trying like the devil to change that. That's number one. Number two, because I have such an aversion to the influence of money...I have not had a national fundraising organization, period. "

He said that's changing, that he has re-tooled his campaign, although he is not going to change one bit of his outspoken style nor compromise any core principles to get back on track.

"If I lose, I will lose on my own terms... Any press person that thinks this is over doesn't know Iowa."

The ancient papyrus edition of the Rocky Mountain News has the full story Saturday. CLICK HERE.

And in the meantime, click the "Full entry" for an entertaining photo sequence that shows what caused Biden to bide his time on the center of the stage.

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We've got it all wrong. All of us.

But some guy in Texas knows exactly how the Democratic National Convention in Denver will end next year.

He projects a New Yorker being on the Democratic ticket, but maybe not the one you're thinking about. We won't ruin the suspense. But CHECK OUT HIS SCENARIO HERE.

Hook 'em. Indeed.

View image Photo by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Former Sen. John Edwards might be leading most Democratic polls in Iowa, but you wouldn't know it from all the biggest headlines over the past couple of weeks.

Since the 4th of July holiday week, the Iowa limelight has been dominated by the two national front-runners: Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

Clinton and Obama practically chased each other around the state that week, wandered off for a few days, then returned this week to give dueling speeches at almost the same time, just a few blocks apart in Des Moines.

The Clinton-Obama rivalry is all anybody has been talking about.

But what about Edwards? Remember him? He still leads the polls here. Right?

Edwards slipped into northwest Iowa on Thursday night for a forum inside a jam-packed public library in Fort Dodge. HERE'S THE FULL STORY from the old-fashioned, inky version of the Rocky Mountain News.

It was less than 100 yards from where singer Paul Simon performed a concert last week for his pal, Sen. Chris Dodd.

Don't tell "Simon and Dodd-funkel," but as a "rock star," Edwards drew a bigger crowd Thursday night.

There's more, LOTS MORE, so keep reading the "Full entry" below...

UPDATED YET AGAIN at the end of the "Full entry" and in the COMMENTS section.

View image Photos by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Sen. Sam Brownback vs. Rep. Tom Tancredo

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As of today, there is exactly one month until the Iowa Republican Party's non-binding but all-important Ames Straw Poll.

From now until then, pay no attention to the so-called top tier candidates.

The ones to watch are the folks on the bubble -- the second-tier contenders who are still trying to break through in the polls and survive as THE conservative alternative to the "Rudy McRomneys" and the political actors to be named later.

Already, there's a heated, increasingly nasty rivalry developing between Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado.

It started last month and flared again on Wednesday.

UPDATE: CLICK HERE for a new story in the quaint, old-fashioned paper version of the Rocky Mountain News.

For more, LOTS MORE, including TWO NEW UPDATES, click the "Full entry."

Read on...

Why didn't he tell us?

Rep. Dennis Kucinich has injected us into the fine print at the heart of his presidential campaign.

That's right.

Look it up: H. Res. 333.

Or read the "Full entry" below, where we give this surprising "Back Roads" development the full freak-out analysis.

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The Iraq war is being fought on many fronts.

* U.S. soldiers are fighting on the real-life battlefields.

* The White House is fighting against increasingly war-weary members of the U.S. Congress.

* Presidential candidates are fighting among themselves about the right way forward.

On Tuesday, one of the hottest battlegrounds was right here in Des Moines, Iowa, where two Democratic front-runners, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois had dueling speeches just a few blocks away from each other to call for bringing the U.S. troops home now.

CLICK HERE for the "corn stalk" version from the ink-comes-off-in-your-fingers edition of the Rocky Mountain News.

Click the "Full entry" for side-by-side audio of the Clinton and Obama speeches, courtesy of our friends at RadioIowa, and stay tuned for an analysis in Wednesday's Rocky Mountain News.

Read on...

View our souvenirs

Did you hear about the break-in at Sen. Barack Obama's headquarters in Davenport, Iowa, on Friday night?

Two laptop computers and campaign literature were taken in the burglary there, along one of America's most famous bodies of water, in a city that's the eastern gateway to the Hawkeye State.

As if the 2008 presidential contest needed another Watergate flashback...

There's more, LOTS MORE, so keep reading...

Sen. Chuck Hagel

Just when you think the 2008 presidential field might be settling down, we get another reminder of the folks still circling the arena, waiting for the right moment to make their grand entrances.

Today, on NBC News' Meet the Press show, America gets another wink and a nod from Sen. Chuck Hagel, the Nebraska Republican who has been flirting with the contest for much of this year.

There's more, LOTS MORE, so read on...

"Pillory him as a propagandist. Praise him as a prophet..."

That's how Jim Spencer opens his latest writing about filmmaker Michael Moore. But he could be talking about his own reviews, too.

And now, Spencer is back.

The longtime Denver-area scribe chose the morning after Independence Day to bust out his first column at the new SpencerSpeaks.com site.

His first full-length installment, "Requiem for a Terminally Ill Health Care System," touches on the presidential race, as Spencer review's Moore's new movie "SICKO" and digs on contenders who seemed flustered by a health care question during a recent debate.

We've added a link to our "Back Roads MILE MARKERS" section because we figured Rocky scribe Mike Littwin might miss his old rival from upstairs. (Look up there on the right side.)

Check it out. And if you want to suggest some more opposing views or favorite political blogs for inclusion in our ever-growing list of links, build some popular demand in the COMMENTS section.

Hop on the bus, Gus, HERE.

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Photos by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut got some star-power for his campaign bus on Friday. He brought an old friend, legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon, on board to help him turn up the volume on his long-shot bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The confetti-capable version of the Rocky Mountain News has the story on Saturday morning -- LOOKIE HERE. But click the "Full entry" for an alternative review of a day on the road and a performance in Fort Dodge, Iowa, that left everybody wanting more.

...who never was.

You might be aware that today, July 6th, is President George W. Bush's 61st birthday.

But did you know that it also would have been the 80th birthday of a man who tried and tried and tried to become president, only to be denied?

So today, all Americans should raise a flag and pause to remember...

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Photo by Chris Schneider, The Rocky

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Judging from our e-mail this week, the biggest debate within Democratic circles isn't about any policy. It's about who can win.

Some doubt that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton can win. Same for Sen. Barack Obama. Same for former Sen. John Edwards. And same for all those other guys.

Candidates spend a lot of time talking about hope, optimism and vision. But below the surface, the debate is about doubt -- at least among Democratic voters still smarting over the election defeats in 2000 and 2004.

On the Fourth of July, Obama was the latest to take the Back Roads to the White House quiz on the electability question.

For a TRANSCRIPT, read on...

UPDATED with VIDEO!

Photos by M.E. Sprengelmeyer

The Back roads "Point-and-Shoot Nation" was invaded this week by professionals with much more expensive cameras -- the back-breaking models that actually focus when asked.

But who can blame them? There was big news. We just found out that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a husband!

And, as she pointed out at her first show-and-tell gathering amid the hay bales at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Monday night, if folks elect her president:

"I will have some good help along the way."

We get it. And we don't think she's talking about bringing back Madeleine Albright as Secretary of State. Or maybe she is -- under a banner that has 48 stars. (That's a little inside joke for anyone else who has heard Sen. Clinton's stump speech 9 or more times.)

While some of our favorite real photographers (like Chris Schneider of the Rocky Mountain News and Christopher Morris were in Iowa) we didn't want to upstage them with our stellar, one-click snapshots.

Big props to them.

But now we're ready to unveil a decidedly more abstract (that means out of focus), everyman's view. Click the "Full entry" for a photo gallery of "happy snap" images.

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Photo by Chris Schneider, The Rocky

...Back Roads to the White (family) House, just outside Des Moines, Iowa, July 2007.
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Happy holidays.

Today, we find ourselves wandering in southeastern, Iowa, where Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton have been dodging one another (just barely) on the back roads.

Clinton-Obama, Obama-Clinton.

It's a dream ticket to some Democrats. A nightmare ticket to others. And in today's fish-wrap capable version of the Rocky Mountain News, we compare, contrast and talk to lots of regular folks who said they hope this ongoing front-runner rivalry does not get out of hand.

The full story is HERE, HERE, HERE.

There's more here, too, so click the "Full entry" below...

UPDATE: "The photo just struck me, Primary Colors." -- Hogar De Vuelta

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And there they are.

Today's tabloid-sized version of the Rocky Mountain News has the picture of the political world's hottest -- and most gossip-driving -- celebrity couple, Billary!

Read the FULL STORY HERE.

Sorry. Like all the other star-gazers and gossip mongers (from tawdry outfits like C-SPAN and the New York Times), we're furiously chasing after them for part of today and don't have much time to talk. But we will offer one snarky little tidbit after the jump...

By M.E. Sprengelmeyer
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

I can't remember when I first met Rep. Tom Tancredo.

He didn't used to be as memorable as he has become.

But I've known him since 1999, when I worked in my first remote outpost for the Rocky Mountain News -- the dearly departed Douglas County bureau on the southern end of his congressional district.

Since being shifted to "the other D.C. bureau" at the end of 2000, I have interviewed Tancredo in person or on the telephone at least a few times per month -- sometimes, up to five times in a single week depending on the "rhetoric alert level."

I've talked to him or heard him talk so many times that on Friday, when he was late for an appointment with the Professional Educators of Iowa in Des Moines, I jokingly offered to recite his stump speech for the handful of people waiting around a table. I offered up one obscure line he often uses with small crowds: "I've traveled farther to meet with fewer people."

When Tancredo finally showed up, he talked education and labor issues. And then, as he was bidding the educators farewell, he used almost the same words I had predicted -- causing giggles in the room.

I haven't talked to Tancredo much in recent months, when he has been focused on his cross-country barnstorming and I've been trying to chase the other 17 "next presidents of the United States" around Iowa.

But I've wanted to get caught up -- if only to figure out what he plans to do if his less-than 2 percent showing in the national polls does not turn into a stunning White House victory.

I sensed an opening last week in West Union, Iowa. In a speech to Republicans there, he used the words "if I'm re-elected...when I'm re-elected" in the part of his stump speech when he talks reverently about the congressional oath of office.

After the speech, I asked Tancredo if he wanted a lift to his next campaign stop in Allison.

He agreed, and for the next 70 miles he sat in the passenger seat of a 1996 Honda Accord with a broken air conditioner. The tape recorder was rolling the whole time -- except for a few brief moments when Tancredo asked to take a break.

What follows is a COMPLETE transcript of "The Back Roads Interview" on June 24 -- a few days before the U.S. Senate killed an immigration reform bill he vehemently opposed -- plus a collection of photographs I took chasing him to seven Iowa stops over a week's time.


Rather than trying to summarize one of our typical, all-over-the-map discussions, I'll offer you this uncensored glimpse inside the journalistic process. And I'd welcome your COMMENTS.

Please read on...