'08! Oh, Wait...

Days Until Bush Leaves Office = 726

Another day with lots of stuff happening.

Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry announced today that he wouldn’t be a candidate for the Democratic nomination this time around. But don’t think for a moment he didn’t seriously think about it. A couple of months ago, I seemed to run into Kerry every time I turned around in Des Moines: in restaurants, crossing the street in my neighborhood, you name it. He was talent shopping, seeing which Iowa activists, organizers and fundraisers would support him if he chose to run. I think we now know what he must have been hearing from them: “Don’t.”

I like John Kerry. I worked as a volunteer for him in Philadelphia during the 2004 campaign (we won there - don’t know what happened in some other states *arch glare at Ohio*). He would have made a good President. But I am glad he decided not to run this time around. There are some moments that come only once; John Kerry has had his. Fortunately, he continues working in the Senate, where I think he will continue making a difference for the people of his state (alright, alright! His Commonwealth! *touchy Yankees...*). Best of luck to him.

Can you believe all the goings on in just the last week? And there’s still nearly a year to go before the Caucuses!

And now a quick few words about last night’s State of the Union address. In a nutshell: Lead Balloon. To be fair, though, the stuff about Ethanol went over big here in Iowa. But overall, I can’t put it better than one unnamed GOP strategist who said, “When you're sitting at 35 [percent public approval rating] and you're telling [the new Democratic majority] what to do after they won an election, they've got to chuckle." You can read the full article from the Washington Post here.

Off to the Races

Days Until Bush Leaves Office = 728

Wow! A blizzard of announcements to match this weekend’s snowstorms in the Midwest. The big headlines, of course, went to Hillary Clinton and her announcement that “I’m in. And I’m in to win.” Nice quote, that. Plus, style points to the Clinton campaign for announcing on January 20, exactly 2 years before the next Presidential Inauguration. Reminds me of a novelty post-it note pad I saw in the early 90’s: “President Clinton Called. She Would Like You to Call Her Back Right Away.” Look for that one to make a comeback!

Clinton’s announcement was followed the next day by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who was also Secretary of Energy during the (Bill) Clinton Administration. With the field filling up fast, and probably due to grow still further, Richardson will need all the energy he can muster. As Energy Secretary, Richardson stood 16th in line to become President in the event that the evil befell the Chief Executive, along with the Vice President, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State and the 11 other people in line before him; he’ll be doing very, very well indeed to come even that close during this campaign!

Clinton is rumored to be jetting to Iowa this weekend for some campaigning. I’ll see if I can catch up with her.

Musings on a Parade

Days Until Bush Leaves Office = 731

By tradition, when the circus comes to town there’s usually a parade to announce the fact. Those lining the parade route get a chance to preview what will be on offer under the big top: lions, elephants, clowns, acrobats, sideshow attractions, the whole milieu. And those watching the parade can often be split into two main groups: those who will turn out to see the circus, and those who will run away to join it.

With a year to go before the 2008 Iowa caucuses, there is no mistaking that the circus is coming to town. Candidates and potential candidates started turning up in Des Moines a few months back, keeping a low profile while scrambling amongst themselves to lock up the state’s top organizing talent, part of an invisible political ritual that’s sometimes called the “talent primary.” The big dogs are now mostly committed to one candidate or another, and the serious work for the caucuses has already begun.

Publicly, of course, there isn’t much attention being paid to the next Presidential election at this point in the calendar. By and large, I think the candidates and potential candidates prefer it this way, as it allows them to move and shake away from the spotlight. The trick, of course, is to be able to summon the attention when it suits you, to seize the spotlight and hold it for yourself while leaving your fellow candidates in the darkness, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. But that comes later.

For now, the campaign is just reaching the stage where people are announcing whether they will be running or not. On the Democratic side - that is to say, my side - here’s the scorecard for those following along at home:
Out:
Sen. Evan Baye - Indiana (12/16/06)
Former Senator Tom Daschle - SD (12/2/06)
Sen. Russ Feingold - Wisconsin (11/12/06)
Fromer Virginia Governor Mark Warner (10/12/06)

In for Sure:
Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack (11/30/06)
Sen. Christopher Dodd - CT (1/11/07)
Former Senator Mike Gravel - AR (4/17/06)
Former Senator John Edwards – NC (12/28/06)
Rep. Dennis Kucinich - OH (12/11/06)

The Explorer’s Club:
Senator Barak Obama - IL (1/16/07)
Senator Joseph Biden- DE (1/7/07, announces he will form a committee “before the month is out.”)

Still On the Sidelines:
Sen. Hilary Clinton – NY
Gov. Bill Richardson - NM
Sen. John Kerry - MA
Former VP Al Gore
Former General Wesley Clark
Al Sharpton
Governor Brian Schweitzer - Montana
Sen. Blanche Lincoln - AR
Sen. Barbara Boxer - CA

Which brings me back to the parade. Hearing the calliope tuning up in the distance has started me wondering about what I’ll do when the circus comes to town: buy a ticket and enjoy the show, or find a way to work the big top from the inside.

First things first: there wouldn’t be much point to this writing if it were my intent to remain a spectator. So, I will be running off to join the circus. The only question is whose wagon I’ll be hitched to. And the answer is: I don’t know yet.

So, what this blog will be about is my experience in choosing and then working for a Democratic presidential candidate in the 2008 Iowa caucuses. For most local Iowa people with any inclination to participate in the nominating process, I wouldn’t expect there to be much interest. But having grown up in the vast media-driven wholesale politics market of Southern California, where candidates are never met, and rarely seen but on TV, the opportunity to take part in the nominating process at its very beginning, in the retail political market of Des Moines, Iowa, is simply too enticing to allow me to be content at watching the parade go by. Because here, in the coming months, as almost nowhere else, I can realistically expect to shake hands and spend some time chatting with them all: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, John Kerry (wait – already did that. Remind me to tell you that story in a later post!), John Edwards, the lot of ‘em.

And that’s the direction I think I’ll take initially: form my own version of the exploratory committee, meet the candidates (Geez, people here who are jaded about that are just spoiled rotten!), and find someone I can feel good about working for until the circus pulls up stakes and heads for New Hampshire.

I’ll do this blog with the hope that it will be of interest to other people who want to know what it’s like to be here and do this.

Deep Background

Days Until Bush Leaves Office = 736

What is This?
This is a blog presenting my experiences in participating in the 2008 Iowa Democratic Caucus process. We’ll start on January 14, 2007, and follow the long and twisting road through to the caucuses on January 14, 2008.

And Who Might You Be?
A temporary transplant to the Midwest. I came here in February 2005 fresh from Philadelphia, Seattle before that, L.A. before that. Thus, for me, retail politics has always been the province of others. Until now.

I have no journalistic pretensions, and make no attempt at producing a political news site. Most likely, in fact, if it is actually news, you’ll read about it here last of any site on the internet. And while I will make very free with my personal political opinions, I expect this will occur within the context of framing my reaction to one or another event or candidate. I don’t intend to try to necessarily persuade readers that I am right, but do hope to always set out a clear (and hopefully compelling) statement of my views.

So, here’s hoping we’ll both find this to be an interesting tale to tell, and to read. Remember to subscribe to get automatic notification when new entries are posted, and feel free to post your own comments any time you’d like. This could be fun!