Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Night owl campaigners

AMES, Iowa -- Here's a quiz: If a presidential candidate campaigns through the night in the middle of one of Iowa's coldest winter nights, will the media follow?

Answer: Apparently.

Democrat John Edwards began what his campaign calls a 36-hour marathon Tuesday with a noon stop at Iowa State University in Ames. He plans to continue with stops across Iowa, from the Nebraska border to the Mississippi, all through the night and all day Wednesday, ending that night in Des Moines.

Why?

"It's about sending a really clear message to people about how hard this guy is going to fight," said senior advisor Joe Trippi.

More than a dozen journalists were following on a bus, some with hotel pillows. More local media was expected at the tiny towns he planned to stop in.

"When somebody wakes up in that (TV) market, they're going to see that somebody was there at 4 a.m., campaigning for their votes, fighting for their votes," Trippi said. "And that's how he's gonna fight for them when he's president."

No comments: