Vilsack: It's A Start...

Tom Vilsack’s campaign released today the names of 1,159 Iowans who have pledged to publicly support Vilsack and represent him during the Iowa caucuses. (They're "ones", in other words.)

Vilsack said he is confident that he will win Iowa despite a recent poll that placed him 4th among likely caucus goers, behind Clinton, Edwards, and Obama. He said the ranking is “very appropriate and very realistic and reasonable” from the people of Iowa.

Vilsack: “Iowans clearly want me to earn their support. They deserve a full and complete and vigorous debate. Polls are often an indication of name and notoriety and not necessarily of support at this point. What is an indication are people willing to sign cards that expressly state their intent to stand up at a caucus and appear on my behalf. I’m convinced that as time goes on, with these ‘Tom Team’ meetings that we’re having, as we travel around the state, (we’ll) continue to get more and more support from regular folks who understand and appreciate what a caucus is and the job I’ve done as governor.” [RIKI PARIKH]

Vilsack fans were asked to sign up as confirmed supporters of the Vilsack presidential campaign at various “Tom’s Team” events throughout the state. There are a total of over 2,500 polling cards collected, with more than a thousand confirmed to be public.

“There isn’t a political director or camp. manager… who wouldn’t trade a Feb. ’07 poll standing for 2500 poll cards, because it’s the latter that wins in Iowa,” said Des Moines lawyer/Kerry ’04 IA Chair Jerry Crawford, who is helping Vilsack use Kerry’s Iowa model: labor-intensive, neighbor-to-neighbor, and signing up supporters on-at-a-time.

Vilsack said they will “work hard, slow but steady, [and] continue to build momentum. This is a marathon, in essence, and you have to peak at the right time. … I’ve never been ahead in a poll at the beginning of any race I’ve been in Iowa, and I’ve never lost. So this is familiar territory for me.”

Vilsack said that he expects nothing but a first-place win in Iowa. Vilsack: “Every single campaign is playing to win and the win is going to be an important win regardless of who gets it. … We’re going to win because we have a stronger organization and we’re going to win because, I think, people will realize we’ve got a stronger vision and a more comprehensive, broad vision for this country, and I think they’ll realize that I’m right on the war, more right than the rest of the Democratic candidates.”