Most Candidates Will Head Home for the Holiday

WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd and his family have forsaken their traditional turkey dinner in Connecticut for "a true Hawkeye Thanksgiving" in a barn in Monticello, Iowa.

One of Sen. Dodd's opponents for the nomination, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, will spend the holiday eve in Iowa helping out at canned food drives in Altoona and Des Moines. On Thanksgiving, Biden will serve meals to the needy at the Machine Shed Restaurant outside of Des Moines.

Iowa is often a lovely place in late autumn, of course, but the holiday dining decisions of two mid-Atlantic senators have more to do with the state's caucuses being held only six weeks after Thanksgiving than with the Midwest's pumpkin pie. But despite this year's shortened political calendar, most candidates are taking the day off to stay home with their families.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will be in Chappaqua, N.Y., Sen. Barack Obama will be in Chicago, Gov. Bill Richardson will be in Santa Fe, and former Sen. John Edwards will be at his home in Chapel Hill, N.C.

On the Republican side, former Gov. Mike Huckabee will be in Little Rock, former Gov. Mitt Romney will be in Belmont, Mass., former Sen. Fred Thompson will be with his family in McLean, Va., and Rep. Ron Paul will be in Texas. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will be in New York City where he and his wife, Judith, will host a breakfast for emergency workers who died on Sept. 11, 2001.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a Republican candidate, will spend Thanksgiving in Iraq, his seventh trip since the war began.

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic candidate, will spend Thanksgiving in New Hampshire, where the first primary in the electoral season will likely be held only days after the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses.

"New Hampshire residents understand the importance of tradition and upholding traditional values, where better for him to be on the most traditional of holidays than here with people like him who believe deeply in what our country stands for," said Susan Bruce, Kucinich's campaign coordinator in New Hampshire.

Dodd, whose long-shot candidacy probably needs a surprisingly strong showing in Iowa to survive, has practically moved to the crucial caucus state. He and his wife, Jackie, have enrolled their six-year-old daughter in kindergarten at the Hanawalt Elementary School in Des Moines. She has attended for several weeks and has "done very well with it," the candidate told the Associated Press.

The Dodd family will spend Thanksgiving Day at the home of supporters Paul and Kim Specht where about 100 folks will eat a traditional dinner in the Specht's barn.

On Wednesday, the Dodds will join volunteers distributing food to the needy at the Iowa Homeless Youth Center in Des Moines and the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program in Hiawatha.

While the Edwards family will be together for the holidays in North Carolina, the Democratic candidate will be airing a new TV spot entitled "Thanksgiving" in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, site of another key early primary.

"For 231 years of America," Edwards says in the 30-second spot, "For the hopes and determination of a nation filled with the most optimistic people on Earth. And for all of you, who have welcomed us into your homes and hearts. Thank you."

The TV ad will begin on Wednesday and go through the holiday weekend. In it, Edwards gives thanks for his parents, his wife, his children and his country.

Meanwhile, Clinton, Giuliani and Obama topped the list when American voters were asked with which presidential candidate they would most like to share Thanksgiving Dinner, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released Tuesday.

Clinton was favored by 27 percent of all voters, including 42 percent of Democrats, followed by Obama with 24 percent of all voters and 24 percent of Democrats, according to the pollsters. Giuliani was the dinner favorite for 22 percent of American voters, including 26 percent of Republicans, followed by 17 percent who want McCain, 14 percent Thompson and 7 percent for former Romney.

"Sen. Clinton and Mayor Giuliani are the top Democratic and Republican vote-getters. They're also the people Americans would most welcome to Thanksgiving dinner, the people voters would like to spend time with," said Maurice Carroll, Director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute "Both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain do better as dinner guests than they do as candidates."