Protesters block Huckabee
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) - Anti-war protestors and Ron Paul supporters both kept Mike Huckabee from entering his Iowa campaign headquarters through the front door Monday.
Three people who managed to break inside - holding a sign that said "What Would Jesus Bomb?" - were arrested and led away, yelling and singing.
Around two dozen Ron Paul supporters outside chanted 'Legalize the Constitution.'
Clinton points to Obama-Edwards feud
ABOARD THE HILLARY CLINTON PRESS BUS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN FT. MADISON AND MUSCATINE, Iowa (CNN) - Hillary Clinton entered the final Monday before the Iowa caucuses fighting the snow and playing to audiences mostly filled with voters still trying to make up their minds.
“We have to resolve that we pick a president who will be ready on day one to lead and as Democrats we have to resolve to pick someone who will win because we must take back the White House,” the New York senator told an audience in Keokuk, a town in southeastern Iowa.
“Since this is a season of resolutions where people think about the year that has just ended and the year to come there couldn’t be a more important resolution right here in Iowa to pick that president.”
Aides said Clinton will spend the remaining days before Thursday’s contest continuing to emphasize her experience and what they say is her ability to effect change.
“My two leading opponents are spending a lot of time right now kind of talking about each other. I’m going to keep talking about the people of Iowa and the people of America,” said Clinton, alluding to the recent testy back and forth between Barack Obama and John Edwards over several issues, including the influence of outside political groups spending money on Edwards’ behalf. The candidates have also sparred over who is better-equipped to take on special interests.
“I submit to you there isn’t anybody running who has taken on more special interests and gotten more done,” she said. “You don’t have to do it by yelling and screaming, save your energy, get the job done … instead of generating a lot of hate and rolling your hands and jumping up and down let’s just sit down and figure out how we’re gong to beat ‘em.”
“The only people who think this is screaming are Washington insiders who see someone coming to take their power away,” said an Edwards spokesman in response to Clinton’s comments.
Huckabee makes, pulls, shows attack ad
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) - In a move that surprised even members of his own staff, Mike Huckabee told reporters gathered to see the debut of an Iowa ad attacking his competitor Mitt Romney that he was pulling the spot before it
aired.
After making the announcement, the Republican presidential candidate still showed reporters the ad, which targeted the former Massachusetts governor's record on such issues as taxes, gun control, and abortion.
Romney has already run several Iowa television spots criticizing Huckabee on issues including state spending, immigration, and clemency.
Recent polls show the two neck-and-neck for the lead among registered Republicans in the state, which holds its caucuses Thursday.
At the news conference Monday, the former Arkansas governor said he created the spot to attack Romney because "conventional political wisdom is that when you're hit, and it's beginning to do damage, the smart play is to hit back. And frankly every bit of advice I was getting said that was exactly what we were supposed to do."
But he said that shortly before the press conference, he called his staff and told them he wanted it pulled.
"I just decided that's not the way we want to run it," the former pastor said. "It's never too late to do the right thing."
Romney: 'I think I'm going to win'
BELLEVUE, Iowa (CNN) - Mitt Romney sounded increasingly upbeat Monday heading into the final days before the Iowa caucuses, telling a group of reporters here: "I think I'm going to win."
"I'm not going to forecast that necessarily," he said. "But I think I'm going to win, and that would be enormously powerful for my campaign. I'm confident I'll get either the gold or the silver, but at this stage I'm feeling pretty good."
Romney - who also told reporters that any finish in the top three would be acceptable - has refused to acknowledge a series of fresh criticisms levied at him by his main rival in Iowa, Mike Huckabee, while speaking to audiences in recent days.
Instead he has stuck firmly to a stump speech emphasizing his optimism about the future and urging supporters to "bring a friend or two" to caucus.
"Get in there and do your thing," he said in Bellevue, one of six campaign stops scheduled for the day across eastern Iowa. "The whole nation is watching Iowa … I can't wait for Thursday night. I have been working for this for a long, long time."
McCain's wife asks for a vacation
LONDONDERRY, New Hampshire (CNN) - Following another overflowing town hall event in New Hampshire Monday, John McCain said he was happy with his fundraising numbers this quarter.
Over the summer, his presidential campaign was forced to shed staff because of campaign cash woes. But "the month of December, I am told, was the best month we've had since last July," the Arizona senator told reporters. "But I honestly don't know the numbers."
"I do know we fully funded the New Hampshire media, we are funding South Carolina as well as money in Michigan, so I'm happy with where we are at."
At the event, McCain was also asked to share his New Years resolutions - a question that stumped the Republican presidential hopeful.
After a few moments, his wife Cindy McCain piped in, "Take me on a vacation."
"Thank you! I just got my New Years resolution," said McCain, leaning over to kiss and hug his wife.
The Arizona senator will be stumping in the Granite State again tomorrow.
–CNN New Hampshire Producer Sareena Dalla
Edwards hits Obama: Too 'nice'
John Edwards campaigns in Iowa Sunday. (Photo Credit: AP)
(CNN) - Democrat John Edwards suggested to an Iowa audience Sunday that presidential rival Barack Obama is too 'nice' to battle Washington's special interests.
Speaking on the stump in Boone, Iowa, Edwards didn't mention the Illinois senator by name. But as he related his familiar campaign mantra of battling interest groups inside the beltway, he implied that Obama just wasn't up to the task.
"I hear people say you can sit at a table with these people, negotiate with them, and they will volunteer their power away," Edwards said. "That is a complete fantasy. You can't ‘nice’ these people to death."
Obama often says he has ability to bring people together while forging compromises, making the idea a major cornerstone of his campaign's 'change' theme.
Special interests " will never give their power away," Edwards said Sunday. "The only way we are going to get their power away, is we are going to take their power away from them, and we have an epic fight in front of us. …"You’d better send somebody into that arena who’s ready for the fight."
Edwards' jab is part of a days-long back-and-forth between the presidential rivals as they battle to be the ‘Clinton-alternative’ in Iowa. Several recent polls show the Democratic race there continues to be deadlocked between the two men and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, Obama hit Edwards on his record over the weekend, suggesting the former North Carolina senator has changed his position on several key issues.
"We are less likely also to win an election with somebody who had one set of positions four years ago and has almost entirely different positions four years later," he said. "We've been through that."
Related video: Edwards appears on CNN's American Morning Monday
- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Romney launches upbeat ad in Iowa
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Republican Mitt Romney is launching an upbeat ad in Iowa Monday that hits on his major campaign themes - the former Massachusetts governor's closing argument four days before Iowa voters are set to caucus.
"I've spent my life tackling big problems – helping turn around business, the Olympics, and state government," Romney says in the 30-second spot. "Together we can grow our economy, stop illegal immigration, defend life and preserve the values that make America the hope of the earth."
The ad follows several recent spots in Iowa from the Romney campaign that directly target rival Mike Huckabee, leading the former Arkansas governor to demand an apology from Romney for what he says are "misrepresentations" of his gubernatorial record.
Several recent polls released over the weekend indicate Huckabee has lost his once large lead over Romney in the Hawkeye State. A McClatchy-MSNBC Poll found Romney ahead of Huckabee by 4 points, while an American Research Group poll had Romney up by 9. Other recent polls have shown Huckabee with a slight lead.
CNNPolitics.com: Huckabee: Romney running 'dishonest' campaign
- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Scenes from the trail: Sprint to the finish
Mike Huckabee takes a break from the campaign trail for a morning jog Monday. Air temperature: 17 degrees. (Photo Credit: Getty)
Superman swoops in to defend Obama
INDIANOLA, Iowa (CNN) - He may be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but Superman can’t caucus.
Actor and Iowa native Brandon Routh is better-known for his role as Superman, but Sunday night he made a cameo appearance on the campaign trail, speaking on behalf of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama at a rally in Indianola, Iowa.
Routh says he is "sad" that he can't caucus any more because he no longer lives in the Hawkeye State, but he says he's "excited" by Obama's ability to unite the country. He also says he likes that Obama is not taking money from lobbyists or special interests.
Routh says he hopes his visit will empower people to caucus for Obama.
Routh is a former fashion model turned actor. He appeared on several television series before being cast as the title hero in the 2006 film Superman Returns.
Closing arguments in Iowa
(CNN) - With just three days left before the first primary caucus in Iowa and a virtual dead heat in the polls, Democratic presidential hopefuls are making their closing arguments and final efforts to motivate Hawkeye state residents to vote.
Among the vows of a safer America and a tough stance on illegal immigration, candidates are promising babysitters, catered meals, and people to shovel snow on Caucus night.
CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux is tracking the candidates during their final hours.
- CNN's Emily Sherman
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