The Blog took Christmas and New Years off, but we’re back. Tomorrow marks the official start of the year-long US Presidential election – the Iowa Caucus. The winners in Iowa will gain a head start in the run up for delegates. Each party’s delegate leader will get that party’s nomination.
For the Democrats, the pundits are calling Iowa a three way dead heat. John Edwards has been making a late push and needs to finish first in Iowa to remain in contention. The two national front runners: Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama need the other to do poorly in Iowa, although Iowa will not likely be fatal for either campaign.
As far as our pet issue is concerned none of the three leading Democrats have taken notable positions on immigration. Edwards has come out as a bit of a trade restrictionist, but that hasn’t exactly translated into anything close to an anti-immigration stance. Since he is the most liberal of the three it seems likely that he might push for a legalization program if elected, although that is by no means certain. Both Obama and Clinton have middle positions on immigration and would likely support a nurse visa program, although it is doubtful that either would outright push for the issue.
Tomorrow: a quick look at the Republicans.