Thompson plans initial foray into Iowa By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer

Thompson plans initial foray into Iowa By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 14 minutes ago



DES MOINES, Iowa - Republican Fred Thompson, the all-but-certain presidential candidate, will make his initial foray into Iowa next week, meeting with lawmakers and checking out an Iowa State Fair tradition — a cow carved from butter.

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Thompson, an actor and former Republican senator from Tennessee, will spend Aug. 17 in the state, aide Andrew Dorr said Thursday. His visit will come less than a week after Saturday's GOP presidential straw poll in Ames, an event that could prompt some candidates to drop out of the race.

Dorr said Thompson will meet privately with a handful of Republican state legislators, talk with reporters and see the sights at the Iowa State Fair.

Thompson is expected to join the field of Republican candidates, but the date of his announcement has been repeatedly pushed back and is now expected in September. He has spent little time organizing in Iowa and has only a skeleton staff, though polls have shown him running relatively strong compared to candidates who have devoted enormous time and energy to the caucus campaign.

"Is it too late? No. Is it very late? Yeah, it's going to be very difficult to crawl out of the organizational deficit he is in," said Chuck Laudner, executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa.

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton focused on her experience and years of public service Thursday when asked the question: "Are you black enough?"

At a conference of black journalists meeting in Las Vegas, CNN reporter Suzanne Malveaux asked Clinton, "Are you black enough? What makes you the better candidate over a black man in representing the issues confronting African Americans?"

The New York senator, who is competing with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the support of black voters, cited her years of public service and advocacy, and described herself as the more experienced candidate.

"My attitude is, I don't deserve anyone's vote. I have to earn everyone's vote. I think that I can make a very strong case that my experience and my ideas, going back into the White House, is exactly what we need at this point in history," Clinton said.

Clinton used the appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists conference to outline her youth opportunity agenda aimed at a handful issues affecting urban and black America.

Clinton is proposing a $10 billion investment in universal preschool, and $100 million for internships giving middle-school and high-school students job skills. She said she would increase funding for the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and reverse proposed federal cuts in child support enforcement.

Clinton also said she wants to spend $200 million over the next five years on community partnerships aimed at helping ex-offenders re-enter the job market.

But the former first lady became most passionate when defending her longtime advocacy for health care reform.

"I have never advocated socialized medicine and I want all the journalists to hear that loudly and clearly. That has been a right-wing attack on me for 15 years," Clinton said.

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ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards on Thursday criticized President Bush's proposal to simplify corporate taxes, saying it will only make the rich more wealthy and hurt the middle-class.

"This is completely out of whack with what America should be doing," Edwards said at an Aspen fundraiser.

In Washington, Bush said he's interested in exploring the possibility of providing tax relief to U.S. corporations. He has acknowledged that such a move would face challenges in the Democratic-controlled Congress, and he insisted it needed to be structured in a way as to not worsen the government's balance sheets.

Edwards told supporters that current federal tax policy favors wealth over work, allowing the rich to pay a 15 percent capital gains tax while forcing the middle class to pay much higher tax rates.

Edwards said he wants to raise capital gains taxes to 28 percent for people making more than $250,000 a year. He also would expand the earned income tax credit, expand child care tax credits and provide matching funds for middle class workers who put money into savings.

The candidate drew snickers from the crowd in this tony resort town when he agreed with a woman who said people earning $200,000 a year in communities like Aspen are considered middle class.

"What she's saying is true. Those are not rich people," Edwards said. However, he said he had to draw the line somewhere and that $250,000 a year is a good figure for people to be considered wealthy.

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HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Thursday expressed confidence in his record after a rival criticized him for changing positions on abortion, possibly making him vulnerable to Democratic attacks.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was the most recent Republican to criticize Romney. Although he said he takes Romney's "positions at face value," he argued that Romney's changed stance on abortion raised questions for Republicans.

"It's a different place than where he was, and the question is, is it a different place than where he will be" if elected, Huckabee said in a telephone interview.

In his campaign for the Republican nomination, Huckabee has tried to draw distinctions with Romney and routinely says: "I didn't become pro-life because of politics. I got into politics because I'm pro-life."

In response, Romney emphasized his record as Massachusetts governor.

"You don't have to take just my word for what I believe, you can look at my record as governor, and I am proud of that, and I wish Governor Huckabee the best," Romney told reporters after a campaign stop in Hampton. "But we'll run on our record."

As governor of Massachusetts for four years, Romney said he "came down on the side of life in regards to abortion, and on the issue of marriage, I fought tirelessly for traditional marriage, saying no to same-sex marriage."

But Huckabee said Romney's switch from his previous support for abortion rights evokes memories of what happened to then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry during the last election cycle, when he was accused of flip-flopping on issues.

"That's the kind of thing that obviously candidates hope to avoid," Huckabee said. "Certainly the Democrats, I am sure, would use that against him and certainly that is something he would have to deal with."

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Associated Press writers Kathleen Hennessey in Las Vegas and Steven K. Paulson in Aspen, Colo., and Amy Lorentzen in Hampton, Iowa, contributed to this report.