Here's John Mellencamp singing "Our Country" at the John Edwards event in Des Moines last night.

And here's Elizabeth Edwards introducing her beaming husband.

UPDATE: John Amato: "Jane has a good piece up about Edwards' performance at the concert last night."

The Mellencamp concert for John Edwards last night was a huge success for the campaign. It was well attended (easily twice the size of the Huckabee "Huck'n'Chuck" rally the night before), the crowd was enthusiastic and responded to his message. The people he assembled on the stage represented the image he was trying to put forth -- working class, labor, the people who have been forgotten and disenfranchised and disempowered. They're pissed off and they respond to Edwards' message that you can't reach a "bipartisan agreement" with people who won't pay for a liver transplant for a teenage girl for the sake of profit. You're going to have to fight them.

One last night for the candidates to make their case. Hillary will be on Letterman tonight. She taped it in Cedar Rapids. She then went to her Des Moines campaign office to give a pep talk to staffers.

John Edwards made 11 stops today and is finishing with a big event in Des Moines with John Mellencamp -- that's where Jane and I will be.

The media has taken over this town. Sean Hannity's crew is at the bar/restaurant next door to our hotel -- he'll be broadcasting H&C from there. The Fox News people are staying at our hotel, as are the Clintons.

The drive to Cedar Rapids today to see Hillary was long -- 2 hours -- and then another hour to Coralville for the Obama event. And of course, more than 2 hours back. It's the flattest state I've ever seen. You go miles without seeing anything, maybe a scattered barnhouse -- not even any livestock.

It's still freezing cold here. On the local news, they are interviewing new caucus goers in the skywalks. You can register to vote at the caucus door.

They are predicting a big turnout, maybe 165,000 Democrats and 95,000 Republicans. That would be huge, compared to 2004.

Also on the local news: Hillary has 5,000 volunteers on hand just to help people get to their caucus. By comparison, in 2004, John Kerry had 400.

There are 2,500 credentialed media in Des Moines -- there is heavy security at the Convention Center. They say no one gets in without a credential. I'll be there tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night, following the results live on the big board.

Hillary's event was packed with hundreds of Iowans -- there were a lot of middle aged and elderly people. They were very enthusiastic and cheered a lot, particularly on health care. It started almost an hour late, which meant we were late getting to Obama's event at the Marriott in Coralville. We got there just as the doors opened and people started leaving. There were a lot of people -- they were predominantly young and younger. There were a lot of junior and high school age kids who obviously were too young to vote. We waited and watched everyone come out. Towards the end there were a few middle aged people, but just a few. It was also a very white crowd. We only saw a handful of minorities. Conclusion: If the college kids come out for Obama, he's in good shape. If the elderly come out for Clinton, she's in good shape. It's all about the turnout at this point. I'll have some video later I hope. My last computer battery is dying and we have an hour or more drive back to Des Moines. More when I can get near a power outlet. I've got to go get ready for the Edwards event, I'll be back later. I did get a firewire cord so I can download my videos of Romney and Hillary to my laptop, edit them and then get them up on you tube. So much to do, so little time.

Today's afternoon delight was a Mitt Romney house party at the home of Ann Warren and family. It was in a suburban neighborhood where the houses are all white or beige and look almost identical.

Jane and I were among the first to arrive, well before any other media. Ann welcomed us in and didn't seem to mind we were bloggers.

After chatting with Oscar Poale, above, a former minister who now owns a Georgia Bar-B-Q place and shows up at a lot of Romney events, I began talking to Rich, who lives a few doors down from the Warrens.

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Hi everyone, Jeralyn from TalkLeft here filling in for John Amato. It's beyond cold in Des Moines -- we'll be in the single digits all day with a wind chill factor of 15 to 25 below zero.

Jane of Firedoglake and I had a fun New Years' Eve starting with dinner with 30 or so national reporters and other caucus followers in the wine room at 801 Grand, organized by David Shuster of MSNBC. Joe Trippi with the Edwards campaign joined the group -- he was in good spirits -- Jane will have a post up on her encounter with Trippi in about an hour. Tim Tagaris, Chris Dodd's internet director was also with us -- at 11 p.m. he got a text message telling him to report for duty at 8 a.m! After dinner Jane, her friend Linda and I headed down to the Court District, where the bars were overflowing with people and champagne.

At dinner, the topic was the new Des Moines Register poll -- and its obvious flaws. While it shows Obama ahead, it is far too top-heavy on independent voters. They also used a strange turn-out model.

A large crowd is pouring into a restaurant next door to the hotel as I write this -- it's a Joe Biden event. I've got to log off now as we are heading over to a Mitt Romney event. Tonight we'll be at a John Edwards get together. I'll be updating this thread with news from both so please stop back.