It's propaganda, folks, because the Globe runs this as the full front page in their "special" Iowa section!
"A precinct meets"
That's funny.
My paper has a full-page spread with the big, bold headline reading "Unbelievable Turnout."
Then you turn to page two and you get this:
"Turnout could have set record" by Staff And Wire Reports | January 4, 2008
DES MOINES - Working against the candidates was the typically small turnout at the caucuses -- about 125,000 Democrats and 88,000 Republicans in a state of about 3 million -- and the weather. That, plus the need to commit perhaps several hours, made get-out-the-vote drives a far bigger challenge than in most states.
Late in the evening, with nearly all of the precincts reporting, the state Democratic Party described record turnout with 230,000 caucus attendees. That eclipsed the reported 2004 turnout of 122,000, and is more than three times the recorded 61,000 who participated in 2000.
That's how you rig elections now.
Flood the thing with the votes and the MSM will declare why they went there!
An estimated 80,000 Republicans participated. Party officials reported a suburban Republican precinct in Ankeny had 220 people show up, compared with the roughly 100 that had been expected. Chuck Laudner, executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa, said the number of new registrants to the process has been "a lot more than we had anticipated."
Then WHY WERE THE TOTALS for the Republicans low?
All those Ron Paul supporters suddenly ran to Obama, huh?
And explain this:
Campaigns were doing everything they could to boost turnout. The cold was likely to help the best-organized campaigns, particularly those of Clinton and Romney, both of which arranged transportation for voters.
No, because Clinton dropped to third we are told (now she can be the "Comeback Queen" in N.H.) and Romney lost!
WTF, MSM?
The Clinton campaign, for example, deployed 5,000 drivers (like you deploy troops?) -- and purchased more than 600 snow shovels -- to help voters get to the caucuses, while Romney had drivers in all 99 counties.
Then WTF HAPPENED, huh?
One lie covers another, with the truth nicely concealed?
Michael McDonald, an election analyst with the Brookings Institution:.
"[Turnout] is all about [campaign] organizations and the dedication of people to get them to the polls. [Though participation is relatively small, the turnout can provide] a measure of intensity and enthusiasm [for the candidates and provide some] tea leaves [about what may happen in New Hampshire's primary."
Don't worry, have that covered above because the MSM already is telling us what they are going to say come Tuesday night!
We'll have to see how it all shakes out, [but the early indications are] quite remarkable. I would have expected much more parity between the two parties, [particularly because] going to a Democratic caucus is much more time-consuming [than the Republican caucuses].
If the heavy-turnout estimates hold up, it would confirm recent Pew Center for Research public-opinion polls that showed heightened interest in the presidential campaign at a much earlier stage in the process].
It's tracking higher than any election they've seen [in at least two decades]. I thought maybe [public interest] would level out once we got close to the caucuses. The American public really is interested in the campaign.
[One clue: if turnout analysis shoes independents were showing up to vote for Democrats], we may think then that McCain will be at a disadvantage in New Hampshire, [because he is depending on unaffiliated voters to buoy his campaign]. There will be few stories that we can gleam [from turnout] that might tell us something about what might happen [in subsequent primaries].
Connie Schmett, a Clive precinct captain for Republican Mitt Romney who was stationed at Valley High:
"There seems to be extremely high turnout, more so than the last one. I think we're going to have a lot of people who were undecided make decisions tonight."
With fund-raising, front-runner status and momentum at stake, the campaigns focused on getting participants to the churches, school libraries, kitchens, and living rooms that host the town hall-style caucuses. The help ranged from free rides to snow shovels, rock salt, and pizza.
Relatively few Iowans take part in caucuses - fewer than 6 percent of eligible voters in 2004. Many tend to be older white people who represent the political extremes of their parties, something critics point to as an unrepresentative of the general voting population but given undue political influence."
Then why did Ron Paul not do well?
He not "fringe" enough?
Or are these damn things just fixed!
I actually bought the prop rags today, for reasons that have nothing to do with the MSM.
Don't expect me to buy 'em tomorrow.
