In response to my “Kill the Caucuses! piece at Slate today, a reader sends along a link to Iowa caucuses blunder recalls close Gephardt-Simon ’88 contest.

On the night of Feb. 8, 1988, Gephardt was reported to be the winner in Iowa, leading Simon 27-24 percent with 70 percent of the votes counted. Dukakis was third with 21 percent. That tally was based on results from the state Democratic Party obtained by News Election Service, a consortium of television networks and the Associated Press.

But that count, essentially a straw poll, excluded 750 precincts, Dennis Goldford, a Drake University political science professor and co-author of “The Iowa Precinct Caucuses: The Making of a Media Event,” recalled today.

Later, the state party reported that Gephardt had defeated Simon by 4.5 percent not in the straw poll but in what was termed state delegate equivalents.