Iowa Caucus Guy’s Presidential Election Blog

It's hard to believe that a year ago we were in a hotly contested race, and now things are pretty firmed up (if you couldn't tell from all the mudslinging). This blog started as a place to share thoughts with a small group of friends, and evolved into something bigger.  I am fortunate for that, but as we are hitting this moment, I am more reflective than I am 'in the moment'. I was fortunate to spend a few minutes with several candidates who came to Iowa- Pete Buttigieg, Dan Behrman, Adam Kokesh, Ken Armstrong and Sam Robb.  Although none of them will be on the General Election ballot, each one of them re-energized me in what it means to be a citizen, and work for a better future.  There were at least a half dozen candidates who I saw either speak in person or communicated with via email.  As we move into the "At least, I am not as a bad option as my opponent" portion of the election, let's not forget the optimism of the early days, and good ideas do...

There might not be anyone who turns elections into the most exciting reading material than David Pietrusza.  He has received plaudits from George W. Bush, Karl Rove, and Glenn Beck, and with reason, he's a master storyteller when it comes to Presidential races. What does "The Year of the Six Presidents" mean?  The basis of this book is that the 1920 election was dominated by six personalities- former and future Presidents, and (due to the 22nd Amendment) we are unlikely to ever see that again. In 1919, Teddy Roosevelt, after his failed 1912 third party campaign- looks to be a favorite and undoubtedly headed back to the White House as a Republican. Unfortunately, he dies that same year.  Woodrow Wilson is the current President, and although he is too ill and too unpopular to likely win a third term, it is his (not so) secret desire to be nominated. William Howard Taft is not one of the six Presidents mentioned, as he is a non-contributor, only interested in ful...

While the Democratic and Republican nominations ended with a whimper, and not a bang, the next two biggest parties look to name a nominee. The Green Party seems to be moving forward with naming Howie Hawkins as their nominee.  He was with the party from the first, essentially one of the founders of the party. I tried to get some of the Green Party candidates to contribute something to the blog, but was met with silence all around.  Even the briefest of looks at the Green nomination race, one can tell there was some resentment fro the other leading candidates towards Hawkins.  Then, the most recent news was that Jesse Ventura might be interested in being the nominee.  It's uncertain if we have seen the last of this race. The Libertarian Party will be naming their nominee very soon. This was a race I talked about a lot on the blog, and consider a very important one, since the Party had run Gary Johnson twice in a row, and this race will be determining their next...

There is one politician who I get more ire online from than any other. Someone attacked me when I predicted that Elizabeth Warren would have better polling numbers than he did. (I was right. This was around May of last year.)  I didn't say anything about Sanders good or bad, simply an observation. So, that is the kind of thing people complain about.  Ironically, I am a bigger Sanders guy than you might guess.  Heck, many of the arguments I get to on social media are with people I agree with.  I am used to it! You already know about books like this, and they are the type of "strike while the iron is hot" screeds written for the candidates' supporters. Politics move fast though.  Books by Ralph Nader, Jesse Ventura and Sarah Palin among others were big sellers but did they have relevance four years later? I suspect Bernie thought the same thing when he wrote it back in 2016. Hillary was going to surely win and move things back to Center.  I have ...

Living in Iowa, the Caucus has always been something I write about.  I love all manner of Presidential politics, but I have branded my writing around the Caucus, since I have such an upfront view of it. It is an important part of Iowa's role in the nation. So, little doubt why it showed up again as the headline story of the Des Moines Register this past Sunday.  While I know it would be inaccurate reporting to gloss over the failings of the Iowa Caucus, I think many Iowa media outlets delight in the 'trainwreck' aspect. The article highlights words like 'fiasco' and 'disaster'.  Yet it leaves out any mention of the App and the usage of it, nor does it mention that things were complicated when the -for-private-use- phone numbers were shared online, and  lines were jammed by trolls and National media. Some Dems I know will tell you that they want change too, but I think much of the furor comes from the outside looking in.  There was a t...

I have never read Maureen Dowd at length, but how could I resist this cover. Most of us are probably not nostalgic for 2016 just yet, but at some point, politicos will want to examine how Trump got elected, and this will be a good reference point. Seemingly better equipped candidates like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio (and even Hillary Clinton) underestimated Trump's populist appeal and 'straight-talk' style. In retrospect, they would surely not have misjudged him.  While I don't think Trump has been able to fully transition those skills as President (I often wonder if Trump had pivoted to the Center, how his approval rating would have changed), one should look at Trump's strengths and how he exploited his opponents' weaknesses. Whether you like the guy or not, his style brought in the crowds for sure, and the good news for the Democrats, is that no one hanging in the GOP wings looks to have Trump's charisma. As far as Dowd, she is quite astute.  She...

I pondered what to do next with this blog as the Caucus has ended. Things surely did not go as I planned.  One of the largest, most interesting Democratic fields in history was winnowed pretty quick.  Iowa, often a battleground state, seems to be checkmarked  either as a red state or a less interesting purple state. I will continue to share humorous and interesting stories from the campaign trail, but is there even going to be a Trail in these pandemic days.  Perhaps, we are back to the 1880s when candidates like James Garfield and William McKinley gave speeches from their Front Porch . When I talk about politics, the part I love is the campaign itself.  I read a lot of books related to Presidential campaigns, and I thought it was a no brainer to share some reviews here.  I am going to try to add one each Wednesday.  We will see how it goes.  I often try to leave my opinion out of my blog (as much as I can) but of course, it will seep ...