WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL…IOWA CAUCUS-PALOOZA, GALLUP EXIT POLLS AND PIE

Well, it’s T-minus 11 hours until the Iowa Caucus and our phone was still ringing at nearly 10:00 p.m. last night. I would say, that on average, we have had 12-15 calls per day regarding the rapidly approaching Caucuspalooza. We have received inquiries asking us if we like George W. Bush (I’m not sure why that is relevant), if we are over 50 (NO), and who our number two choice is. It has been an education in political polling to be sure.

I have read stories to the effect that many people outside of Iowa claim that we should no longer have our ‘first in the nation’ status due to our lack of diversity and the fact that we do not represent a large enough number of the nation’s population. I am willing to acknowledge these concerns. It’s true, we don’t have a movie-star ‘governator,’ a high concentration of a variety of ethnicities, or even an Oprah or Martha-esque font of all things popular (although Oprah is our neighbor to the east.)

However, I would like to point out that we also are not the overall-wearing hayseeds the rest of the country seems to think we are…even though the political commercials focus on mainly farmers and the elderly for photo ops, I assure you we know what authentic Mexican and Chinese food taste like, and we know where Washington D.C. is and why this election is so important. We are the birthplace of pollster George Gallup (some of you may have heard of him), a large number of our farmers have attended college and know how to use GPS to track their crop productivity, and many of us have experienced life elsewhere and chosen to come to Iowa get away from the everyday rat race lunacy so many people seem to think is the good life. Oh, and by the way, we do NOT grow potatoes! (Except in our gardens…)

I actually have my suspicions that the politicians prefer coming to Iowa (and I’m guessing New Hampshire as well) as their initial testing ground for a couple of simple reasons:
1.) We have the ability to detect crap and send it packing. While we may not be the most populated, or celebrity-infested, we do know what hard work is, and we appreciate the simple things in life. Don’t try to sell us any mumbo-jumbo, sling mud, and don’t try to avoid the issues. In this land where manufacturing and many large employers have moved on for cheaper labor, the basics confront and concern us on a daily basis, and we have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps more than most…It’s as simple as that.

2.) People in Iowa are nicer than most. Okay, that is my personal opinion, but then this is my blog…Just this afternoon, I had a visit from some lovely Clinton staffers who were looking for our neighbors. They felt free to come all the way up our lane to ask for directions despite the sign out by the road declaring our allegiance to another candidate. They said they needed a break and figured we’d be as nice as everyone else they’d met.

While most of the politicians do the majority of their Caucus stumping in small towns with Mom & Pop diners that don’t serve Starbucks, we do have great hot roast beef sandwiches, pie, and even organic menus. However, perhaps the best thing about Iowa is that it is one of the few places left on the planet where a handshake promise is as good as getting it in writing. (Not that we are entirely without our self-serving ladder climbers…we have those too. But, as I said, we Iowegians possess a finely-tuned BS detection system, and the resident posers are easily identified.)

While the rest of the country can complain that Iowa doesn’t accurately represent the country, we should instead be thanked for being a filter for the rest of America. By separating the wheat from the chaff, we are saving the rest of you from fielding hundreds of phone calls and unexpected door-to-door visits. We have watched as many hours of political commercials on television as actual programming, and have received dozens upon dozens of political mailings.

After our oldest son counted 8 political commercials during one programming break on Caucus Eve, he opted to shut the television off to avoid them. When the phone rang at nearly 10:00 p.m. waking him up, he wanted to know if everything was all right since the phone was ringing so late (our alarm goes off around 4:00 a.m. so please don’t call after 9:00). When I told him it was someone calling to thank us for our support for Thursday’s Caucus, he commented “Well, I wish they had called a little earlier, but that is really nice of them. If I were old enough to caucus, I think I’d pick them too.”

While we all know that nice is not enough to get the job done; here’s to people who are as good as their word, hard work and hope, and a willingness to pull together to get the things done America desperately needs. My son suggested that everyone should recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the caucus to remind us that we are all responsible for each other. Here’s hoping when his turn rolls around in a few years, he will still have the chance to partake in the caucus to support the candidate he thinks will do the best job not only for him, but for his ‘neighbors’ around rest of the country. “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all…”

Good luck New Hampshire…you’re next!