In four days, we will go back to being irrelevant. But for this week, Iowa is the center of the political universe. And for a political junkie like me, it is heaven. Ann isn’t quite as excited, probably because she is sick of answering campaign telephone calls. Not being able to hold a receiver saves me the trouble of having to explain that I will never vote for a man named “Mitt”. or “glove” or “scarf” for that matter.
This morning I went to hear John Edwards for the second time. He had an event at Buena Vista. I thought he drew a pretty good crowd. The guy who introduced him was the actor from the “Dukes of Hazard” who played the role of the mechanic, Cooter. That’s one of the craziest names I have ever heard. Cooter. That word had a whole different meaning where I grew up. Let’s just say you didn’t use that word in polite company.
Yet this morning here was a guy grinning from ear to ear saying “You might remember me as ‘Cooter’. Let me tell you why you should vote for John Edwards.”
Apparently because a guy named “Cooter” should determine the next leader of the free world. I am fine with actors giving political endorsements, but I find it odd when they choose to continually reference their on-screen character. Especially when that name is Cooter. (I was having a hard time keeping a cork on my chuckling)
Edwards didn’t deliver as effective of a speech as he did in June. He was much more formal and more narrow with his message. He was in a suit and tie and spent the whole time railing against corporate greed. I myself think that he is a solid, well rounded candidate. But I am not sure that message alone can carry him to victory. He didn’t come across as knowledgeable as I know that he is. The people I went with weren’t all that impressed. However, that might have had less to do with John Edwards than the fact that less than 18 hours earlier, we listened to perhaps the best campaigner of our time. President Bill Clinton.
Even his most strident critics have to admit that Bill Clinton knows how to work a room. I have heard that repeatedly through the years but yesterday was my first chance to see him in person. Now I know first-hand that that’s true.
He spent almost an hour addressing the crowd at the Storm Lake middle school. I think that most of us could have listened to him for an hour more. He was extremely eloquent and made a strong case for Hillary. It showed that he was truly enjoying himself as he layed out Hillary’s attributes and vision for America. He told a host of anecdotes that played well with the audience. He got a lot laughs while making his points.
After his speech, he didn’t field any questions but instead started shaking hands with people in the front row. I wanted to get a photo of him, but we were seven rows back and I wasn’t sure how to manuever through the crowd. Then I ran into someone I worked with at the university and she asked me if I wanted to meet him. After I said “Absolutely”, she asked a campaign staffer if Ann and I could go backstage. The staffer said “sure”, and in a minute we were backstage with the Secret Service and a couple of staff members.
So as President Clinton circled the front row, we nervously awaited him. I told Ann that I just wanted to get a photograph. Then I remembered that the Storm Lake Pilot Tribune had published my letter from Friday and that we had a copy. So I had Ann tear it out in case we could slip it to him.
Then he came backstage and we were immediately introduced. All of the staff and security took a few steps back, and it was just the three of us chatting for about five whole minutes. After he found out that I have ALS, he told us about the people he knows with ALS. His first Chief of Staff had two family members with ALS. He also talked about having Steven Hawking over to the White House and how they are friends.
We talked about typing with an eye gaze system and I told him that’s how do it. Then we showed him my article. He grabbed his spectacles and read my letter! Then he said, “Why is Tom (Coburn) doing that?”. So we had a discussion about how Senator Coburn is blocking any new spending. He assured me that the fight against ALS is important to Hillary and him and said he would “see what he could do.
We talked about some other things and he seemed truly impressed that I had listened to his autobiography. By the time he hugged us and left, we had his autograph and some great photos courtesy of one of his staff members.
The man may have some well publicized character flaws, but I think he was a great president and has done a lot of good for many people. He is a well accomplished American and it was an honor to be in his company. It was an experience we will treasure for a lifetime and shall never forget.
