Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Addendum: More Thoughts on Ready Rally

I'm not asking for my own personal sit down and pie shake with Hillary at the Hamburg Inn, though I recommend the blueberry and I'm sure Bill will back me up on the Burg's quality.

I'm asking Clinton, or even the people close to her, to explain and redefine her relationship with my state, which is a fair ask from the first state or the 57th state (sorry Mr. President.)

From Chuck Schumer at Jefferson-Jackson to Claire McCaskill in Linn County, to this, I'm getting two messages.

1) Hillary wants the field cleared. Which is understandable for any politician, but may not be in Iowa's best interest.

2) She wants to avoid uncontrolled Iowa-style retail politics.  Note McCaskill explicitly saying "Iowa won't get as much attention." McCaskill, as you recall, earned her own special circle in hell on Hillary's Hit List, as a co-generational woman who backed Obama. McCaskill is no doubt trying to restore herself to Clinton 45's good graces. It's noteworthy that the message she was asked to carry by SOMEone, probably not Hillary Herself but certainly one who knows, was "Iowa won't get as much attention."

Those things aren't disqualifiers from the presidency, though personally I think they're counterproductive.

More importantly: I  think it's counter-productive for Iowa bigshots to play along by endorsing Clinton two years out. At the very least they should be privately asking the questions I'm asking in public. Maybe Clinton truly is inevitable this time. But I want to know how my state rates during the Clinton 45 presidency, and I want to know where we stand for 2024.

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