Essential Estrogen

Two more Democratic presidential campaigns have issued statements about the possible Michigan jump to Jan. 15, 2008 and their belief that Iowa should lead the nomination process.

"Gov. Bill Richardson believes Iowa should remain first in the primary calendar," said Iowa Communications Director Tom Reynolds. "Iowans understand the responsibility that comes with their position and take it very seriously. They carefully scrutinize the candidates and their policies to make informed choices. The retail politics that take place in Iowa are a valuable part of the electoral process."

Sen. Chris Dodd's campaign agrees Iowa should maintain its role as first in the nation.

"Voters and caucus-goers in Iowa are not impressed by celebrity or campaign war chests," said Taylor West, Iowa press secretary for Chris Dodd for President. "Instead, they evaluate candidates face-to-face, asking tough questions to determine who would make the strongest nominee and the strongest president. Given the stakes in this election, the thorough examination of candidates by voters in the early states plays a crucial role in the process, and it's one that we believe should continue."

The statements follow one made by Sen. Joe Biden at the end of a weeklong tour of the state.

"Powerful interests are trying to change the Democratic nomination for president into a game of Monopoly, replacing the retail politics of Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire with a process in which the only credential necessary to be president is to be the wealthiest candidate," he said.

Biden went on to call upon all "fellow Democratic candidates to reaffirm their support for the retail role of Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire."

The statements come mere days before the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee meets in Washington, D.C. to debate whether primary and caucus dates in a number of states meet the rules that same committee set last year.

Representatives of the Iowa Democratic Party will take part in the meeting and, it appears, they will have several Democratic candidates standing in their corner.

~~~UPDATE, 5:54 p.m.~~~

Gov. Bill Richardson's campaign has just now released the following statement directly from the candidate:

"This continuing game of 'primary leapfrog' is not constructive and threatens to disrupt the entire process," said Governor Richardson. "I respect and support Iowa's and New Hampshire's rightful places as the first caucuses and first primary, respectively, in the nation, and I call on my fellow Democratic candidates to do the same. We'll deal with the remainder of the calendar when the dust settles."

Richardson further added that he is concerned the scramble for early dates will negatively impact the Nevada caucuses scheduled for Jan. 19.

"The Nevada Caucuses for the first time give the West a critical voice in the selection of the President," he said. "This diversity is essential to ensure that Western values and issues and the concerns of minorities are directly addressed during the campaign."

~~~UPDATE, 7:10 p.m.~~~

After reading former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards' remarks to the Associated Press, I contacted his Iowa Communications Director Dan Leistikow for clarification.

Leistikow emailed the following response:

"As you know, Senator Edwards strongly supports Iowa's first in the nation caucuses. He's been running a very aggressive campaign in Iowa and that's definitely not going to change. Something else that won't change is the importance of Iowa -- which will have the first contest in the nation and will give the winner tremendous momentum. That's why we're continuing to expand and build on our operation here."