Dodd: Afterthoughts

Dodd: Afterthoughts

This is what a caucus event is supposed to be like. The Edwards and Obama events I covered recently felt like general election rallies. But this is the kind of gathering on which the caucuses built their reputation, and which remains Iowa's raison d'etre. A small group of dedicated activists sitting down with someone who, by any reasonable standard, deserves serious consideration as a potential president.

The people waiting to talk to Dodd were not waiting to touch the hem of his garment, as I said of Obama. They were all armed with detailed questions.

But in the Cycle of the Rock Stars, does that matter? Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama simply could not do this type of event, and John Edwards probably can't either. The fire code alone makes it impossible. Obama and Clinton simply do not have enough hours in the day or enough energy in their bodies to spend three minutes with everyone who wants to see them, because so many many people want that moment with them. U2 doesn't play clubs anymore, and you don't get to have a Guinness with Bono between sets. And so every show is a stadium show, every early caucus event becomes a general election rally...

If we can't do these one on one events, that undercuts our case that the caucuses are special and should continue as the first event. Are we soon to be victims of our own success?

(Aside: my pics still aren't downloading. Maybe later...)