Essential Estrogen

The cutoff for first-quarter fundraising was last night. Maybe we'll now be able to visit with candidates without one of their hands flying out, palm up. (But don't hold your breath.) The results of the money game will be officially available April 15.

Our prediction: the surprise coming out of this first quarter will be Sen. Chris Dodd and that his money situation will float him into the national media's top four on the Democratic side.

There is an interesting article in the NY Times which details how the emergency room visits and catastrophic injuries of all other sports combined do not surpass those caused by cheerleading.

This past week, The Caucus Cooler ran the story on former congressman Greg Ganske endorsing Sen. John McCain. It seems the GOP is also having troubles with key folks endorsing too early.

Hawkeye GOP has a preview of the upcoming Lincoln Dinner.

Hillary Clinton is planning another visit to Iowa.

Jesse Jackson endorsed Sen. Barack Obama.

The Johnson Co. Democratic Central Committee has elected State Central Committee member Brian Flaherty as chair. Another State Central Committee member, James Moody, was elected as vice-chair. The only disappointment in the elections is that there will only be three women -- out of the hundreds of capable and talented women in Johnson County -- serving on the executive board. Alicia Trimble will once again serve as second vice chair; Gina Schatteman was elected as treasurer; and newcomer Dawn Suter will be one of the co-chairs of the membership committee.

Sixty Des Moines jobs are placed on the chopping block as Meredith Corp. announces it will close the print version of Child magazine. The Des Moines-based company publishes 25 subscription magazines including Better Homes and Gardens. The final print edition of Child will be the June/July issue.

All of Iowa's four-year-olds could attend preschool paid for by the state and taught by licensed teachers if legislation which recently passed the House continues through the Senate. One thing I find worrying about this actually resulted from the graphic which ran with the article. The graphic is a map of the U.S. with states color-coded based on the percentage of four-year-olds enrolled in state-financed pre-kindergarten in 1005-06. The state with the most children in such program is Oklahoma. I need to do some more research to determine how long Oklahoma has had this program. As of right now, Oklahoma is lowering proficiency standards in order to bolster needed information under the No Child Left Behind Act.

State Rep. Geri Huser and Rep. David Tjepkes said they won't recommend an increase in the gasoline tax when they ask for more road work money. According to David Yepsen the pair will be looking to increase motor vehicle registration instead. (You know, you can register vehicles in other states for pennies compared to what residents pay here in Iowa.)

If you read our thoughts on Rep. Dawn Pettengill, you may also wish to click over to Iowa Progress and read their take on the situation as well. (They seem to be much more forgiving than we are.)

Iowa state republicans can finally put down the Kleenex since they've discovered an emotional pot to stir for the next few weeks.

I missed the Barbara Walters interview of Rudy Giuliani and Judith Nathan, but was able to read Seth Gitell's take on it.

Yesterday I completed an informal poll of Democrats at the Linn County Democratic Hall of Fame as to whether they had ever been included in one of those Zogby or other national polls (such as the one reported last week). Again, this was completely informal, but no one I asked at last night's event had ever been included in one of the national polls. We are beginning to wonder if it isn't only Western Iowans who are included in such things and if, quite possibly, we should begin to cry about it.

While Presidential hopefuls currently serving in Washington are having a difficult time juggling their responsibilities with campaign trail requirements, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has stepped up to the plate and will be traveling to North Korea this month for meetings with government officials. While it may not gain him any points with Iowans who are feeling a bit ignored by him, it's bound to bring him a heck of a lot of press for those wholesale political states.

Democratic Presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich says his campaign has arrived at a "teachable moment and an opportunity for growth."

Bill Romjue was named Sen. Joe Biden's Iowa State Director.

Meanwhile, Mike Gravel, who gets ignored even by the pollsters, recently debated a law professor about the parallels between the Iraq and Vietnam wars. "What happened in Vietnam is that the best and brightest of the left took us to war without reason," he said. "In IIraq, [it was] the best and brightest of the right." Ouch.

Steve Forbes is endorsing Rudy Guiliani. Michigan State Sen. Jack Bradenburg is switching endorsements from Romney to Guiliani. (Check the link for more on the issues with Romney's campaign.)

Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama can't even escape controversial tidbits with their endorsements. BET co-founder and President of the Washington Mystics of the WNBA Sheila Johnson is endorsing Obama while her ex-husband (not on necessarily good terms) Robert Johnson, the other BET co-founder and owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats endorses Clinton>

In response to the media's interest in the contents of Anna Nicole's fridge, Iowa Guy has ... *gasp*... posted a photograph of the contents of his own refrigerator. Further, he'd like to collect others.