After spending a leisurely holiday week with my family in Iowa (not on the trail as a journalist), a few random impressions:
- Everyone seems to be annoyed at the onslaught of Edwards junk mail. My parents (who live in the eastern Iowa city of Dubuque) estimated they get five times as much mail from (or about) his campaign as from any other. Even my grandmother, who once said she liked Edwards for his good looks, has grown tired of finding his glossy photos in her mailbox.
- I spent a significant amount of time watching crap cable TV. And I have to say, it's different to watch campaign ads on regular television -- in between Project Runway reruns and '80s movies on Comedy Central -- than it is to watch them on YouTube (or as part of one of Paul Waldman's regular critiques). Clinton and Edwards were running spots that had them looking Serious and Presidential, talking directly into the camera. Snooze. I can't tell you a single word they said -- and I had a hard time even searching YouTube for the commercials, because I couldn't remember key words or themes. But Obama's "One Voice" ad stopped me on my way to the kitchen to get yet another Christmas cookie. It was noticeably different from the other two, and really served to underscore the larger narrative of his campaign. (And Paul tells me that's what makes a good political ad.)
- Although they flirted with the idea of supporting Huckabee, my ultraconservative relatives are caucusing for Romney. (They proudly showed me the Christmas card they received from the Romneys -- "See, it says 'Merry Christmas,' not 'Happy Holidays'!") As my uncle put it, both Romney and Huckabee have it right on the three G's: guns, god, gays. (Yes, he really said that.) But he's caucusing for Romney because he just doesn't think Huckabee's electable.
But I'm leaving the real Iowa coverage to Dana and Tom. Check out Dana's take on the state of the Edwards campaign, and tomorrow Tom will have a piece on the Romney/Huckabee smackdown. Also, Ezra is braving the freezing temperatures in New Hampshire, so visit his corner of the site for more on-the-scene campaign blogging. --Ann Friedman
