The Hillary Machine

I got to the Grand River Center about 7:30pm. Turns out this is a giant convention center that's been build down on the river, near a giant hotel and casino.

I made it inside and Hillary was winding down her speech. (It seems I had over-played the politician-lateness card.) She was speaking in a large ballroom. She stood on the floor in the middle, with people seated all around. I was left to peer in from the doorway, over the heads of many standing.

A couple of things were notable:
1) Hillary's tone. She was very soft and conversational. Nothing loud. Not a lot of dynamics. At first, I figured she was saving her voice given the campaign grind. Then I realized there was probably a lot more to it. She sounded Obama-esque. Very rational, very civil. No Shrillary here.
2) She was also pitching herself as the "Serious" candidate, with a capitol "S." She ended the speech imploring people to remember their responsibility to those who could not be there on caucus night: the soldiers at war, the people working night shifts, the Americans outside of Iowa. This is pretty galling to me, but she seemed to be saying, "Hey, I'm ahead in the polls everywhere else by huge margins. Don't get seduced into voting for some flash-in-the-pan. It's your duty as a citizen to get me elected. I'm the goods here."

To me, Iowans have gotten the best looks at all the candidates. They're the least influenced by the vicissitudes of the national media. Yes, they have their pet issues (ethanol) but the average Iowan knows more about the various candidates than the average citizen anywhere else. If they are not on the Hillary wagon--and they may be, that's not the point--they should not jump on because of some perceived duty to the rest of the country.

She finished up and started walking the rope, signing autographs and taking pictures. I stood up on a chair and tried to capture the scene with my crap-ass camera. The more interesting part was watching her secret service detail. 5 of them surrounded her. All eyes and ears. One of them looked younger than me, which I thought was odd.

All this took place through the blaring of Tom Petty's "American Girl," and the Police's "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic", and the like.

I rolled out and found a local sports bar to watch the Patriots go for 16-0. The place had this Buffalo Chicken Fettuccine dish. Mmmmmmm.