We just wrapped the last of eight editorial board meetings in 2007 with the presidential officeseekers. The session believed to have been set up with Mike Huckabee fell through, so after Barack Obama gave us an hour today, the final tally is two Republicans and all six of the Democrats who have set up campaigns in Iowa.

We sent out initial requests to the major campaigns on May 21, and made repeated contacts to get the presidential candidates in. Some required more work than others. All told, we sat down with Dems Obama, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Bill Richardson, and Republicans John McCain and Mitt Romney. In spite of the fact that they’ve been in the city since October, we didn’t get Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson. And Rudy Giuliani has only been in the city once back in July, so his failure to set a meeting isn’t surprising.

The meetings provide information for endorsements the Journal will make, which will be published Dec. 23. There will be an endorsement in each party. Endorsements maybe aren’t the big deal they were when newspapers were the sole information source years ago, but they still carry heft. The Des Moines Register made endorsements last weekend (McCain and Clinton), and within a day Clinton had created a commercial that was running on TV and radio, touting the nod.

As for Obama, his appearance here came on the same day a Gallup Poll showed he would fare best in the 2008 general election. While the poll showed both he and Clinton would win when matched up with the three top Republicans (Huckabee, Giuliani and Romney), his percentages were higher than Clinton’s, as high as 57-39 in a contest with Romney.