The Iowa Caucus

I took a little trip to Iowa for five days to volunteer for John Edward's presidential campaign. Iowa was very important to his campaign so I wanted to my candidate to do well.

It was an adventure for me because of the incredibly cold weather and the slightly different tastes that I may have to most Iowans. I flew to Council Bluffs, Iowa on New Year's Eve and spent New Year's at the Harrah's Casino playing penny slots.

New Year's Day I started working phone banking and canvassing around the area. It was a really great experience talking to the Iowans about who they support and who they don't. The most surprising was how many people weren't sure.

I was also privileged enough to be an observer of two caucus at McClelland Town Hall for the Hardin and the Washington and York precincts. It was truly exciting to watch especially since it was a small precinct, which is what the majority of the precincts are like. Mine had 4 delegates with 1 going to Edwards, 1 to Obama, 1 to Clinton and 1 to Dodd.

Despite his second place finish, I am very pleased with his race. I thought it would be really difficult to pull out a first place win with all of the money that both Obama and Clinton raised, but I think the Iowa Causes showed that money isn't everything.

I have the campaign bug now and I really wish I could go to New Hampshire. But, I am hoping that I can travel to either Nevada or South Carolina for Edwards again.

I have some pictures of my trip on our Flickr page including a fuzzy one of me and John! (Why can't strangers take better pictures?)