Not a
surprise:
Democrat Joe Lieberman (news - web sites) told his supporters Sunday that he is pulling his presidential campaign out of the initial caucus state of Iowa, gambling that he can win the nomination with a later surge in the primary race.
The Connecticut senator has decided not to spend his scarce funds in a state he probably has no chance of winning. His decision allows him to shift the money to New Hampshire and other states with later nominating contests.
As of Sept. 30, Lieberman ranked fifth out of nine candidates in the amount of money raised this year, with $11.7 million, and fifth in the amount left to spend on the race, with $4 million.
Lieberman had no chance of winning Iowa, or even of making a respectable showing. Pulling out makes perfect sense. A third-place finish in New Hampshire, especially since it'll only take about 8-10 percent of the vote, is far more doable, and far more valuable than anything Lieberman might accomplish in Iowa.
Lieberman will open four new offices in New Hampshire that will be staffed in part by redeployed Iowa field operatives. He'll also add staff in South Carolina, Arizona and Oklahoma.
Iowa is a three-way race between Gephardt, Dean and Kerry. The other candidates may not be so public about it, but expect them to also (quietly) take a pass on the nation's first caucus.
Update: Clark announced that he too will
skip Iowa. Unlike Lieberman, Clark could've competed in Iowa given the time. But he entered too late.
We looked at it very carefully and decided our resources and our candidate's time and money are better used elsewhere," said Matt Bennett, a spokesman for Clark, the retired general who just entered the race one month ago but had made no commitment to Iowa beyond two early visits.
With just three months until the Jan. 19 Iowa caucus and Clark's campaign still being organized, he said, "We need to make hard decisions about where we want our candidate to go."
