Iowa Campaigns Banking On Phone Outreach

By the time Jane Irene Duax arrived Monday at Davenport North High School, she was well aware that Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards would be appearing there with musicians Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt.

She had received some telephone calls about the event. Four or five, in fact.

"The last time, they just said, 'We're calling to make sure you're still coming,' " Duax said.

With six weeks left to the Iowa caucuses, maybe one of the most secure jobs to have on a presidential campaign in the Hawkeye State is working the phones.

Thousands of calls are going out daily, identifying supporters, soliciting volunteer help, alerting people to upcoming events.

Even in an age when there is greater emphasis on new technology -- text messaging, Web ads, YouTube and the like -- the basic 12-key telephone is still a big hit.

Read the full article here.