Some unvarnished highlights from a conference call with Giuliani campaign manager Michael DuHaime and Iowa chairman Jim Nussle:
"We have made a decision as a campaign that we are not going to participate in a financial way in any straw poll this year. What's important to note is that we are 100 percent committed to winning the Iowa caucus in January. We appreciate and respect the process in Iowa and believe that the best way to do that is to dedicate those resources for the caucus."
DuHaime noted that this strategy is unconventional, but "the bottom line is, we're going to do what we feel is right." Iowans aren't "going to make their decision based on a non-binding straw poll in August."
Even though Ex-Rep. Jim Nussle was supposedly a key player in this decision, he seemed to imply that it came from New York: "We certainly in Iowa have been axiously awaiting this decision because we know it has significance for the caucus in January." Nussle has called Ames "a circus" -- but he insists that's not pejorative -- "I like circuses. Circuses are fun."
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