Proud of the Hawkeye State

I have lived in Georgia more than a quarter century with my father's family going seven generations deep on a hilltop in Druid Hills, but I grew up in the great state of Iowa in a rather interesting political climate.

My mother Norma S. Matthews was part of the apparatus adjusting the Iowa Caucuses to the front of the line in 1972. We hosted a caucus at our house on 44th st.eet "Snake Drive" where people huddled in corners to declare their allegiance to everyone from Hubert Humphrey to Edmund Muskie to Scoop Jackson and George McGovern. My mom was the co-chair of the McGovern campaign and we had quite a parade of people through our living room and guest rooms that year, including Bill and Hillary, Gary Hart, and many others less famous.

McGovern came in third that evening but won in the expectations game, doing better than was thought possible, and the Senator from South Dakota won the elusive momentum factor into New Hampshire and Wisconsin on to the nomination.

Every quadrennial the eyes of the nation and the world turn to Iowa for the favor of opening up our political discourse in a neighborly kind of way. People will gather in gyms, churches, schools, and people's homes for the sheep herding that is the first test of the Presidential campaign. I for one love the Iowans unique system of making people turn out on the coldest of nights to huddle in bunches and count their numbers. Credentials are always checked and Iowans are a very patient people. Hands are raised and votes are tallied and sent forward to the state parties for tabulation.

Some criticize Iowa as being atypical the nation at large; but I say Iowa has a fair sampling of the rest of country in its largely mixed bag racially, religiously, etc. I guess I am trying to say there are a surprisingly large number of Croats and Serbians and Hmong and Cambodians and Thai and Dominican politically active individuals in Des Moines than a lot of people might first consider in slapping down the Hawkeye State Caucuses.

I am excited about Thursday and think it will be super tight on the Democratic side with Hillary maybe getting 25%, Obama 24% and Edwards 23% or thereabouts. I think this last second kiss and make up with Huckabee sparing Iowans watching football today maybe two less hours of blasts seeming somehow disingenuous. Romney edges him out with smaller percentages and more lower tier candidates doing better than expected. Forecast for Des Moines Thursday: a relatively balmy 34 degrees, which means big turnout all around.

Who do you think will win and why?