KNOXVILLE, IA.-- Top of the afternoon. Reporting live from the Skate Pit in this town about 40 miles south of Des Moines. White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama's Iowa bus tour is set to arrive here in about 30 minutes.
In the meantime, the Obama operation is organizing young voters here. There is a table for college students to check-in and a spot for high school students to fill out contact cards. And instructions--Cliff Notes version--to students on how exactly to caucus. There is a pamphlet written for students, with sections "Notes to College Students" and "Notes to HIgh School Students" about the caucus.
Once the caucus date was set--it is Jan. 3--the campaigns started executing their get-out-the vote strategy. Unlike a primary, where votes are cast in secret, in an Iowa caucus people have to literally stand up and be counted.
"It's easy to caucus," explains the handout, starting at the beginning.
"A caucus is a neighborhood meeting that you go to on January 3 at 6:30 p.m. in your neighborhood and stand with friends who support Obama."
And on related matters....Obama, in an interview with the National Journal's Linda Douglass taped Tuesday said the dynamics of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination have changed in the past two weeks. LINK
Excerpt....
Q: What do you think is going to have to happen to change the dynamic in this race?
Obama: It's changed.
Q: How so?
Obama: Well, I think that over the last two weeks what you've seen is that there are some very clear differences between the candidates emerging. I think that voters here in the early states like Iowa are paying very close attention. We're in a dead heat, and we expect to do very well here. And I promise you after we've emerged from Iowa with some considerable success that that will further accelerate a changed view on the part of the national press about where this race is going.
Lynn Sweet is a columnist and the Washington Bureau Chief for the 
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