SKINNY!!!

Last week's primary may have been as much of a litmus test of Tom Vilsack's political brawn as it was of Mike Blouin and Dusky Terry's voter appeal. There are those who think Vilsack's support may have done those two more harm than good - despite any claims that Vilsack was "neutral" in the primaries.

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"I think that's a real sense of people looking for change in Iowa," says one political insider. "They're looking for a changing of the guard." And she's not just saying that because she's watching from the Republican side of the fence. There are too many questions in people's minds about CIETC, Vision Iowa and the Values Fund under Vilsack's reign, she says. Blouin in particular seems to have suffered politically from the questions surrounding management of the Values Fund and how many jobs the Department of Economic Development really created with it. There's just too much distrust of state government right now, she says. "It's not really Vilsack's party anymore."

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The big wake-up call for Democratic Party strategists was Ed Fallon's strong primary showing in the governor's race - particularly the fact that he carried Polk County, where voters know him best. "He did surprisingly well," says a woman active in the Iowa Democratic Party. "I think it shows that people are ready for someone different, someone who sticks to the values of our party."

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However, she says, "Fallon created a lot of buzz in the party," and Democratic leaders are counting on Fallon to help Chet Culver make it to the top with his campaign-finance reform message, especially since Jim Nussle's wife is a former lobbyist for Big Tobacco and pharmaceutical companies.

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