Local pols offer insight on tonight’s Iowa caucuses

LYNN – John McCain’s military record and Mike Huckabee’s folksy manner have earned them voter appeal but a local Republican thinks Mitt Romney is poised to win tonight’s Iowa presidential caucuses.”Huckabee’s quick wit and folksiness got him where he is. But if Romney wins by four or five points, Huckabee’s campaign is over,” said Revere City Councilor at large Anthony Zambuto.Zambuto plans to campaign for Romney in New Hampshire, but tonight the focus is on the middle of the country where thousands of registered Republicans and Democrats meet in schools, community rooms and fire stations.The outcomes of the caucus meetings will set the tone for a presidential race on track to reach a crescendo pitch on February 5 when states across the country hold primaries.New polls indicate the outcomes in Iowa are extraordinarily unpredictable.Among Democrats, Barack Obama, an Illinois senator, is fighting with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York for the lead as former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina gives them strong chase. Two former governors, Huckabee of Arkansas and Romney, are vying for the top slot on the Republican side.Given the tightness, caucus turnout will be critical. There were signs that Democratic voters are more energized than Republicans.Democrat Joe Biden, who counts among his Iowa field workers Lynn attorney Richard Vitale, attracted 500 people to a noontime event at a Des Moines brewery – a bigger crowd than any Republican candidate usually gets.Lynn political veteran Deborah Smith Walsh said the stakes are high in Iowa for the top three Democrats.”If Clinton loses in Iowa then she loses some momentum, but if she or Obama come out strong, that helps them in New Hampshire,” she said.Walsh said Edwards is gaining political strength in Iowa and will be “right back into the mix” if he wins in Iowa.Clinton and Obama were slated to air longer-than-usual, two-minute ads during Wednesday’s evening news programs.