our political reporter put a primer together and he is live at we're calling it the willie cam.he state's caucuses are the first time gop voters officially weigh in on who they want to be president. at 7:00 local time, 100,000 or so republicans will gather in more than 1700 schools, libraries, churches, and even some private homes. run by the party, not the state, there are no voting booths or levers to pull. in most precincts just secret ballots, scraps of paper, folded over and turned in. iowa's status as first in the nation began in the 1970s. there can be surprises like pat robertson's second place finish in 1988. >> an impressive second place showing tonight is pat robertson the former television broadcaster. >> and mike huckabee's victory just four years ago although neither went on to win the nomination. >> i love iowa a whole lot. >> or they can help reinforce a front-runner like george w. bush in 2000. the road to the white house begins in iowa and for this year's republican candidates, it's been a bumpy ride. rick santorum spent the most time in the hawkeye state visit