The Importance of Being Iowa
The real winner this past Thursday was Iowa and its caucuses. Maybe it was the uniqueness of the current presidential election cycle; or perhaps the excitement of the possible first woman or black presidential nominee; or the lack of a clear front runner in a crowded GOP race; or the fact that my son decided to visit Iowa to see the caucuses first hand (he took the above picture in Des Moines)....whatever it was, this was American politics at its best. People never really understood how the "caucuses" worked, but the proliferation of digital cameras and videos has finally shown how this quirky institution operates from the inside. People showing up for a meeting of about 1 1/2 hours in length, listening to speeches, being cajoled by fellow citizens to vote for whomever, then physically going to a corner of the room to deomstrate a candidate preference. It was fascinating viewing. I wish we had such a system here in Ohio. Iowa serves several functions in our electoral process: