Caucus 2008

I attended my first caucus last night and oh boy! was it ever fun!! I feel sorry for any of you that don't get the opportunity to experience grassroots politics up close and personal like we do in Iowa!

The adventure started with a treacherous walk across the high school parking lot. I did the 'old lady shuffle' on a sheet of ice until I arrived safely at the building door. Then it was a matter of following the hand-lettered signs to the library. Promptly at 6:30pm the doors were locked and 83 of us from two townships (the ground level unit of local government in Iowa) found our seats. Each Democratic candidate had a table and those of us who were 'standing for Hillary' clustered around one. My neighbors, Loren and Doug, were there. Loren sat down with the Obama camp; Doug joined me with Hillary supporters. (I'll bet the conversations at their house have been interesting lately!) The chairman made some required announcements, did an official head count, and then computed the numbers. Each candidate had to have 12 supporters to be viable; Dodd, Biden and Richardson were quickly eliminated. That's when the fun began as the rest of us tried to woo their supporters to our candidate. With a total of 6 delegates to send to the county conference, more supporters meant more delegates. We tried to lure people with our awesome cookies, campaign promises, etc. An hour later, it was over. Here's the results from Truro, Iowa....3 delegates for John Edwards, 2 delegates for Hillary, and 1 delegate for Obama. A little different than how the state went overall. Everyone left with a smile, a cookie, and a determination to put a Democrat in the White House come November!!

As you know by now, Obama took Iowa with Edwards and Hillary closely matched as runners-up. But the big news from my perspective was the turnout. Over 239,000 Democrats caucused; over 112,000 Republicans. These numbers almost double the turnout of 2004!! Everyone is excited about this upcoming election. As I walked the hospital halls this morning, everyone is talking about going to the caucus and what's happening from here. Iowa, at least, is so ready for a change. Republican or Democrat...everyone feels the need to get our country back on track and change our image in the world. These are exciting times and I feel privileged to have been a part of this movement toward integrity, hope, compassion and inclusion. However the campaign looks when it comes to your state, I urge you to participate, vote, speak out and hear the candidates. It's FUN!!