Caucusing

So, last night Jeff and I watched the Caucuses for most of the evening... it was actually pretty entertaining. I didn't understand the whole process until we talked to Jeff's mom, an Iowa native, who had to explain everything to us before she left. She continued throughout the evening to update us on the process: I got text messages saying that the line she stood in at the local Elementary school wrapped around the building twice, that when she actually got into the building she could feel the person standing behind her breathing on her neck, and then she updated us on the first and second counts of votes. We were, of course, watching it on television where they declared that Barack Obama won far before her first count was finished, but nonetheless I was excited to be getting first-hand info from a Caucusing woman.

I learned a lot. I haven't gotten too much into the campaigns yet, knowing that many will drop out probably even before our primary in February. Last night, however, I got excited. I watched each candidate give their speeches after the votes were counted, and here is my overall assesment of the situation:

John Edwards creeps me out. I saw him speak when he came to Springfield for the Kerry campaign, and overall liked what he had to say. Since then, however, I've heard him speak several times and each time I feel like he's a fake. He is always giving some ridiculous heart-warming speech that seems over-done and disingenuous. He also over-tans.

Then there was Mike Huckabee. Obviously suprised. Chuck Norris' (CHUCK NORRIS, PEOPLE!) teeth were blinding. Couldn't concentrate on what Huckabee was saying.

Hillary is growing on me. At the present time I think she's quite a bit too divisive for this already torn-apart country, but she's smart. That's something we need going for us. Coming in third last night was an obvious blow-- described quite well by some CNN analysts saying that Mr. Hillary looked quite upset standing next to her while she spoke. And... her speech sucked. She talked about how great Democrats are and was really sarcastic. She looked defeated too. Boo.

Mitt Romney. What kind of name is Mitt? And $30 BILLION on TV adds in Iowa alone? And he still came in second? That rocks.

So--my favorite of the evening you ask? Obama. He blew everyone out of the water with his Martin Luther King-like speech. (I'm not the only one who says that, either.) What really got me was when he talked about how this country needs true unity and someone who can cross boundaries. He sounded so poised and put-together, and not really campaign-y either. Barack really seems like the kind of guy who will work hard, take things seriously, and surround himself with good people. He really sold me last night. He's the man.