PHEW. The Iowa Caucuses are done.
Iowa has the first chance to narrow the field of presidential wannabees, but those of us who live in Iowa are “taking one for the team,” as they say. We take what was called, in less politically correct times, a “freak show” and mold it into something more palatable for the rest of the country.
I have to admit, there is a kick back for all the attention. Personally, I get a certain delight from the BBC doing a live feed only 45 minutes away from where I live. That’s just not a typical day in Small Town, Heartland, USA.
Of course campaigns and the media spend a lot of money wherever they go. TV stations must rake in the money, but it is wasted on me. We use the mute button during those ads so much, we can’t see the word Mute on the remote any more. If someone isn’t tending to the remote when the TV is on, we race to find it when the candidates’ voices begin to infiltrate the airwaves. Sometimes it’s the timbre of the voice that makes my ears bleed; sometimes it’s the phoniness of the voice that makes my stomach lurk. These particular candidates have dropped out already, so the rest of the country won’t be subjected to them. You may send us a thank you note later.
Iowa tends to be proud of its “first in the nation” status. In the 1970s, Iowa put an unknown Georgia peanut farmer on the national stage to the presidency. Four years ago, this state, which is 91% white, started the trajectory of the first African-American president. Like these men or not, they are a significant to America’s history, and Iowa had a hand in it. However, the process isn’t foolproof. There were some people with the potential to make a good president, but dropped out for various reasons. There were also people with the potential to make terrible presidents. Iowa tries to send those home, but the occasional stinker slips through the cracks.
The candidates, their staffers and groupies are departing, but I appreciate all the money they left in the state while they were here. The local airwaves are returning to normal except for the interruptions of “I am ending my campaign” speeches. The circus has traveled down the road, but it will be back. It always is.