The Spin Cycle

MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Republican presidential candidates spent Tuesday trying to put the best possible spin on the results of Monday's Iowa Caucuses. For the surging campaigns of Pat Buchanan and Lamar Alexander, that meant each proclaiming loudly and often that he was the only real rival to Bob Dole. "In the end, it's going to be a contest between Bob Dole and me," Alexander said, while Buchanan, who finished just three points behind Dole, told reporters he was "the one conservative who can with this nomination." For others, it was harder to put a positive face on Iowa. After a worse than anticipated Iowa showing, Steve Forbes canceled a planned day of campaigning in order to tape a new series of television ads. Meanwhile, with just nine percent of the Iowa vote, Phil Gramm was headed back to Washington to meet with campaign advisors and figure out whether he should withdraw from the race.