Political Equinox

Day three was a very interesting day. We didnít actually attend any political events until later that night. It was, however, a fantastic experience ñ we were a part of an NPR discussion in the first event and then went to the final large scale Senator Clinton rally where she pulled out all the stops and brought out all of her top gun supporters ñ including her husband (and one of my true heroes) Bill Clinton.

NPR Discussion ñ What do Caucus Goers Care About?

We arrived (albeit late) to a discussion between the local NPR affiliate and caucus goers. The moderator, along with an academic political scientist and political commentator engaged a discussion with local caucus goers. The event was open to the public (as all fantastic public radio programs are) and thus we participated. The panel of three engaged in nonpartisan political analysis of important issues to caucus goers and listened to actual caucus goers with their ideas.

Even though the moderator attempted to find one single issue that motivated caucus goers to caucus for a certain candidate, over and over the crowd noted that no one issue pushed them to caucus; it was a panoply of issues that seemed to motivate the caucus goers. Candidates have to prove they are strong on more than just one issue. This makes guessing the ìwinnerî of the caucus difficult when there are multiple candidates with similar beliefs on the most important issues to caucus goers.

Senator Clintonís Final Rally ñ Bringiní Out the Big Guns

The NPR discussion was at the same location that Senator Clintonís rally was held; therefore we did not have to move at all. Unfortunately, they were three hours apart. Chris, Tyler and I had a decision to make ñ should we leave and risk loosing prime placement or should we wait for three hours?

We choose the latter. Sitting and watching the setup for the event was interesting. Senator Clinton had at least 50 campaign workers (paid staff and volunteers) along with the Secret Service frantically getting everything ready. Campaign staff shuffled selective people to the bleachers behind where Senator Clinton would be speaking, reserved sections for the disabled and helped the media with any problem they seemed to need. The Secret Serviceís eyes scoured the scene, looking for potential problem spots and items that could potentially harm the candidate. It in and of itself was entertaining.

Finally, the moment came ñ and boy we were lucky when it did. At the beginning, in trotted former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright followed closely behind by the former Supreme Commander NATO Allied Forces, General Wesley Clark. Terry McAuliffe, the former DNC Chairman and current Hillary for President Chair came right soon after. Behind them were the acting couple Ted Danson of Cheers and Mary Steenburgen of Back to the Future III fame

This gathering of the most famous in government and entertainment was easily shown up by the next set to enter the state, for then the most power family in politics ñ Chelsea, Bill and Hillary Clinton

President Clintonís job in this setting was to introduce his wife and, as he said, fill up exactly enough time to get his wife on the local news. He noted that even if he was not married to Senator Clinton, he would still vote and campaign for her because she has what it takes to lead right now.

Senator Clinton was next to speak, and provided the audience with the same stump speech most Iowans must have heard multiple times now. Her oration reminded me of the great spoken poets of Ancient Greek and Roman lore. Senator Clinton, like Homer, used certain phrases and specific words to keep the stump straight in her head so that she can communicate the same information. Much like these spoken word poets, it would be difficult to write down what senator Clinton would say verbatim, as the type of audience and the choice of content is different for each stop.

For me, the most exciting part happened after the candidates spoke. Each of the three family members made the rounds ñ Senator Clinton first, followed closely behind by her husband and Chelsea soon after that.

President Clinton is one of my heroes. His intellect, management ability and unmatchable communication style make him one of the greatest leaders we have ever had. He is someone to look up to as a person who desires to be involved with public service. It was fantastic that I had the opportunity to not only shake his hand, but to take a picture with him.

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Another interesting moment was when Chelsea Clinton came by Tyler, Chris and I. If you recall my earlier post, I had a brief discussion with Chelsea regarding her motherís position on public service and youth. She remembered me from the earlier discussion, and asked if I would support her mother in the caucus. I told her I was not a resident of Iowa, but would consider her once my stateís primary rolled around. I failed to tell her that since Indianaís primary is not until May, my vote will not matter. It was nonetheless nice to know that political figures are not robots whizzing from one campaign stop to another but actual people that (hopefully) enjoy engaging the electorate.

Tomorrowís up in the air. Hopefully we will have some Ron Paul stuff as well as more from Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

Photos by Tyler Platt, Chris Wright and Patrick McAlister.