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New Year's Eve in Des Moines

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Mon Dec 31, 2007 at 07:29:51 PM EST
Tags: Iowa 08 (all tags)
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It's beyond cold here -- and I say that as someone who's used to the cold. The wind is very strong and there's humidity making for the kind of cold that chills you to the bone.

It's 7 degrees out with a wind chill factor of minus 15 to 25. It will not get out of the single digits tomorrow. By Wednesday, the temperature will climb a bit and by caucus day, while it will still be cold, it's not expected to deter people from coming out since snow is not expected.

Where were your candidates tonight? Joe Biden was on the local news extolling his family members including his 90 year old mother, who are here with him in Iowa. His wife, daughter, two sons who are attorneys (one is AG of Delaware) have been coming out every weekend to campaign for him. He still thinks the race is wide open. Since he doesn't have a real shot of winning, it makes me wonder what he's really running for. I'd guess Secretary of State.

John Edwards is spending the evening with family.

Last night, Hillary and Bill stayed at the hotel that Jane and I are staying. I assume they are still here but I haven't seen them. It's not a big hotel. At 9:45 pm, everyone's invited to a Hillary event at 4th & Locust. Jane says it's an outdoor concert with Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Outdoor? I don't think so. But in case there's also an inside party, we may head down there just before midnight. Bill and Hillary will both be there.

More...

Former Time reporter Matt Cooper is headlining a standup comedy show at our hotel at 9:00. We will try to make that. But, we're headed to dinner at 8 with some other folks and it's cutting it close.

The local tv news is filled with campaign commercials. In the past 45 minutes, I've seen several by Biden, a few by Richardson and Huckabee, two by Obama and one each by Dodd and Hillary. Richardson's is in black and white - no color -- is that to save money? The first Obama ad focused on change in Washington and the second touted his health care plan. Hillary's was the one where she doesn't speak and images flow instead.

The town doesn't seem packed yet. If we make it to the Clinton event, I'll report on how many people braved the freezing cold to stand out and listen to Big Head Todd.

The local news just promo'd the 10 pm news saying some candidates may be leaving town before the caucuses. Unfortunately, I have to leave now and won't be here to get the scoop. I'll update later.

Have a great night everyone, and if you are in a warm locale, thank your lucky stars.

< Happy New Year | DMR Poll: Obama With Large Lead >

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    New Year's Eve in Des Moines | 8 comments (8 topical)

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    I was joking (none / 0) (#1)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Dec 31, 2007 at 07:31:14 PM EST
    Go out and party like it's, um, 1999!

    J, it is plenty cold in CO and (none / 0) (#2)
    by oculus on Mon Dec 31, 2007 at 07:39:10 PM EST
    the Eisenhower tunnel just reopened after about 24 hours closed.  BTW;  Des Moines is the largest CITY in Iowa.  Who the heck are Big Head Todd and the Monsters?

    You're probably kidding (none / 0) (#7)
    by jen on Mon Dec 31, 2007 at 10:26:29 PM EST
    about Big Head Todd, but in case you're not:

    Doing Bittersweet in 2005.

    (YouTube)

    Stay warm and safe.

    Parent

    Not kidding. (none / 0) (#8)
    by oculus on Tue Jan 01, 2008 at 12:58:50 AM EST
    [self-professed classical music snob.]

    Parent
    SE Iowa (none / 0) (#3)
    by Natal on Mon Dec 31, 2007 at 07:53:20 PM EST
    I'm in a small town in SE Iowa - population 9,900. This week we'll see Dodd, Edwards and Thompson. They must be blanketing the state. We're not that significant.

    Keep warm (none / 0) (#4)
    by Maryb2004 on Mon Dec 31, 2007 at 08:06:26 PM EST
    Remember, if you have wool gloves or mittens on, blowing hot breath on them to keep warm only increases the humidity and makes you colder in the long run. :)

    Gotta help out people from dry cold climates.

    say no more: (none / 0) (#5)
    by Miss Devore on Mon Dec 31, 2007 at 08:28:17 PM EST
    "Last night, Hillary and Bill stayed at the hotel that Jane and I are staying."

    ok--so it might be the temple of your familiars, but still, people are sick of the anointed.

    If I were there... (none / 0) (#6)
    by LonewackoDotCom on Mon Dec 31, 2007 at 09:26:38 PM EST
    First thing I'd do is go heckle Matt Cooper.

    Then, I'd prepare myself to do some real reporting tomorrow, as I reviewed the candidates' policies and prepared real questions designed to reveal the flaws in those policies.

    And, I'd make sure that my cameraman (in this case, that would be Jane) knew how to get good sound because I wanted her to tape my question and the answer so I could upload it to video sharing sites in order to do a public service and show tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people how most of the candidates aren't qualified for any office.

    Unfortunately, I'm not there and it doesn't look like anyone who is there wants to get a lot of Youtube hits and do a public service.

    However, there's always next year, say in October.

    New Year's Eve in Des Moines | 8 comments (8 topical)

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