MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.
ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
We're watching the action tonight in Iowa where former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has come in first in the Republican caucuses.
BLOCK: That's right. With about 41 percent of precincts reporting Mike Huckabee, 31 percent; Mitt Romney, 23 percent; Fred Thompson, 13 percent; John McCain, 12; Rudy Giuliani, 11; Ron Paul, 10 percent.
SIEGEL: What's the sense there?
MICHELE NORRIS: Well, Robert, what you have here are a number of Barack Obama supporters starting to trickle in. But right now, the reporters, the press corps outnumbers the supporters that are here. And what you see are a lot of people walking around, looking at small screens at these numbers, and just how close this race is. We've been talking about frontrunners for some time - three frontrunners - on the Democratic side. It's not entirely clear that we're going to start talking about any one of them in the singular after this because the race is still so close at this point.
SIEGEL: Are any of Obama's people there giving their spin to the results so far or is it still too early for them to do that?
NORRIS: Well, you know, they're - what you hear - what you've heard really in the last week is measured optimism. The people here are feeling pretty good. I spoke with David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, and, you know, they were feeling great about coming into this. They said they've done a good job in building an organization and getting the voter turnout. And they're looking at this and, you know, they're pumped about this, but the numbers are too small for them to start, you know, really crowing about this. I mean, Barack Obama, at this point, we just got an update, 34.99 percent. John Edwards, 31.26 percent; Senator Hillary Clinton 30.96. Boy, it's as close as it can be.
SIEGEL: Yeah. And we're looking now at as many as two-thirds of the precincts having been counted. A lot of the action today was all about getting - being the second choice of minority candidates; that is are the people who will win no doubt. Did the Obama campaign work hard at being other candidates' second choice?
NORRIS: You know, Obama did this - and you heard this also from Senator Clinton and former Senator Edwards - but, particularly, Barack Obama made this pitch: If I'm not your first choice, at least make me your second choice. And that's really a unique pitching in Iowa in the way the caucuses work. If a particular candidate couldn't draw enough support, 15 percent in that caucus room, his supporters or her supporters, have to go to another candidate or go home. And what he's really saying there, if your candidate is not viable, make sure that I am your guy. And what we heard, at least anecdotally, in some of the polls, in many cases, the Edwards was the number two choice. But Barack Obama was the one who really made the strongest pitch there.
SIEGEL: Okay, Michele. Take care.
NORRIS: Thank you, Robert.
SIEGEL: That's Michele Norris, our colleague who is in Des Moines, and she's just talking to us there from Barack Obama's caucus night headquarters.
BLOCK: And, David, what's the word where you are?
DAVID WELNA: Now, this is a better result than the polls had been indicating for many weeks. Edwards, at one point during this year, was way ahead in the polls, and then he fell behind. But he really needed to win in Iowa, and they really have their hopes pinned on that happening. At this point, that does not seem to be happening.
BLOCK: And very briefly, David, John Edwards has been spending time in Iowa, probably longer than any of the other candidates. He's been there since 2004.
WELNA: He has since he finished second in 2004. And he practically moved here, and he is way behind both Obama and Clinton in fundraising. And his team here is saying, well, you know, this just goes to show what money can buy. But they're hoping to prove that Edwards' argument can overcome the spending disadvantage that they have. But he's got to win tonight.
BLOCK: Okay. That's NPR's - thanks.
WELNA: Yeah.
BLOCK: Joe Loebach, how did things end up in your caucus?
BLOCK: How did finish up? We had 30 - ho, ho, 38 - no, we had nine for John Edwards, which gave us one delegate, and seven for Barack Obama, which gave us a second delegate.
BLOCK: Mm-hmm.
BLOCK: And in the final, we had six for Hillary Clinton, which she didn't get a delegate.
BLOCK: I see. And how many people showed up total?
BLOCK: Well, let's see. What's the count? Nine and six are 15, and seven are 23.
BLOCK: A little shorter than - you were hoping for 30. You said you had chairs for 50.
BLOCK: Yeah.
BLOCK: So not as high a turnout.
BLOCK: Well, the wind is still blowing 30, 35 mile an hour.
BLOCK: Uh-huh.
BLOCK: And a little snow moving. And it's down there, you know, pretty cool.
BLOCK: And you told me earlier you were a John Edwards supporter, so at least in your own small caucus there in your own house, you've got to be pleased with that result.
BLOCK: Oh, I'm very pleased. Yes. I was hoping we can get two, but we just couldn't quite get it going.
BLOCK: You told me earlier, Mr. Loebach, that this was the first morning that you went out to the mailbox and did not find campaign literature in it.
BLOCK: Correct.
BLOCK: Is that a good feeling?
BLOCK: It's a very good feeling.
BLOCK: Why is that?
BLOCK: It lightens the load by quite a bit when I have to carry the mail in.
BLOCK: I bet. I bet. Well, now that the caucusing is done, what's happening at the Loebach house?
BLOCK: What's happening? Oh, there's a lot happening. We're going to be running all over the country.
BLOCK: No, right now. I mean, what's going on in your house right now?
BLOCK: Oh, what's going on right now? Well, we have coffee and cookies and cookies and cookies and candy and more cookies and nuts. And, you know, we're having a little party.
BLOCK: Okay. Well, Mr. Loebach, good of you to talk with us. Thanks so much.
BLOCK: Thank you very much.
BLOCK: That's Joe Loebach who hosted a Democratic caucus tonight in his home in Burt, Iowa.
SIEGEL: Latest numbers: Barack Obama now, on the Democratic side, has just over 35 - 35.26 percent of the result. Just under 31 percent for John Edwards and Hillary Rodham Clinton is - Hillary Clinton is within the fifth of a point. NPR News is now...
BLOCK: And, Robert, we're told now that we are now projecting...
SIEGEL: We are projecting...
BLOCK: ...that Barack Obama has come in first in the Democratic caucuses in Iowa.
SIEGEL: This is NPR, National Public Radio.