The level of interest in this presidential caucus in Iowa is amazing. Sure there are people who are done with process — or wished this circus had never rolled into town. But there are far more people than I imagined who are really engaged in this process.
I am being hosted by a lovely couple in Creston, Iowa. They are restoring their turn of the (20th) century farmhouse, so there’s one bathroom, which we all have to share. I share the bedroom with their cat when he figures out how to open my door (which he does with some regularity). When I arrived, I assumed that they must be big Biden supporters. Why else would they permit me in their home, especially in such close proximity as their current renovations require.
When I arrived at their home late, after having first shown up at a small two bedroom shack (a tad afraid that my host family decorated their front porch with beer cans), they asked me, “So which campaign are you with?” Somewhat surprised they even asked, I said, “Biden.” “Oh, he’s a really smart guy,” Ruth said. “You didn’t know — or care?” “No.” These folks are just delighted to be a part of the process and are really putting themselves out so people like me can get their candidates’ messages out.
I talked today to a 91-year old woman who APOLOGIZED that she might not be able to make it to an event that Sen. Biden’s sister is hosting. The woman explained that since her fall in the summer, she was a little afraid to walk on ice. I am not at all certain that she is one of our supporters — I think she was so disappointed because she’s undecided and wanted to learn more about our candidate, whom she says she admires and would like to learn more about.
And there’s an emotional attachment for people who find their candidate. I am certain every campaign can tell stories like this — and there are others like it in our campaign, this just happens to be one that I was a part of. A stocky, heavy-set fellow — appeared to be a no-nonsense kind of guy, demin jacket — came up to me after one of the events. He said, “I’m a Republican.” I said, “That’s fine, some of my best friends are Republicans.” He said, “No, you don’t understand.” With what I can only describe as a lump in his throat (and I swear I am not exaggerating that), he said, “I’ve been a Republican all my life…. but I need for you to tell me how I can switch my affiliation to support your candidate. I’ve never heard anyone like that — he KNOWS what he’s talking about.”
As much as the democratic process is criticized, this has been a very heartening experience so far. No one can say this people of this state aren’t engaged.