A good friend of mine moved to Iowa about 9 months ago. He still owns a mortgage company in Oregon so we speak often. But for some reason which is still a mystery to me, he picked up his family and moved from the great pacific northwest to a small town in Iowa.
Joe and I are polar opposites of the political spectrum, but I listened with great interest as he described in detail his first experience in an Iowa caucus. He attended the caucus with the contractor that had been working on his house...this gentlemen had lived in Iowa his entire life and never attended a caucus. His contractor buddy said that his favorite part was seeing which of the neighbors were republicans. Knowing my friend, I am sure his motives were considerably more political. Joe described the election of a secretary and a chairman, his chance to speak to the group, and the process of counting the vote. He said that his 13 year old daughter had learned about the system in social studies class and the experience was exactly as she described it to him. A great chance to meet friends and neighbors and steer the direction of the political process nationally.
I have got to say that I envy the people of Iowa a little bit. They have the chance to set the direction for every presidential election. With that honor comes the opportunity to get up close and personal with the candidates. A much better look than the rest of us get. I have heard that the campaigns spent nearly $500 per voter in Iowa...an incredible number. It clearly demonstrates the strategic importance of this small little Midwestern state in guiding our political process.
With great power comes great responsibility. From my perspective, Iowans have handled their responsibility well this election season.
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