. >> tom: larry zimpleman is the c.e.o. at principal financial. oins us from his firm's headquarters in des moines, iowa. >> larry, happy new year and happy caucus evening to you. >> happy new year to you tom. it's nice to be with you, thank you for having me. >> tom: how has the economy been playing as a political issue leading up to tonight votes. >> well i think the economy, tom, is always going to be one of the most important elements in any voter's decision about who they want to support. but i do think we're a little bit different here in iowa, the economy in general is a little bit better than it is in much of the rest of the country. and unemployment here is in the 6% range, so again we see it being about two thirds the national average. so the economy remains very important but i think it's about the future direction of this country. it's about how are we going to get some of the long term budget deficits under control. those are kind of issues i think are playing into the politics this time. >> tom: back to the iowa economy. what does the