Iraq Debate at the Iowa State Fair

I just got back from Iowa.

I spent a full day last week at the Iowa State Fair which, if you haven’t been, is worth a trip. There is a reason it is on the list of 1001 places to see before you die. The mix of carnival, food, music, games and politicians is very Americana. They have a very good affection for foods on a stick. They also are pretty P.O’d about the war.

I met up with the Iowa Iraq Summer team at 9 AM. Last week two of these folks were invited to dinner with Sen. Chuck Grassley after spending a day tailing him with video cameras.

The first two hours today were spent on WHO radio statewide with radio host Jan Mickelson who is the Rush Limbaugh of Iowa as best I can tell. (Listen here) I was joined by Sus Dinsdale—mother of a two-tour Marine Iraq veteran—who is the Iraq Summer director for Iowa. (We ran into Iraq Summer target Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) after the show but he wasn’t in a chatty mood.)

After the radio show we met up with a reporter in the RV camper Sue had positioned off the fairgrounds to distribute signs and stickers. The RV was plastered with signs and stickers. It also showcased the “Support The Troops, End the War” blimp rented for the fair.

After swapping some Iraq Summer stories with the organizers, we returned to the Fair where John McCain and Bill Richardson were about to make appearances. McCain zoomed up to the stage, spoke for one minute and then left. He was trying to get out of the sun as quickly as possible —- mumbling oddly every few minutes about the sunlight. (The NYT Caucus blog caught it too.)

On my way out of the Fair, McCain went zooming past me again (veering to use the shade of the concession booths) so fast that one woman said to her husband, “Oh, honey. That’s John McCain.” Her husband replied, “Yeah, but we didn’t miss anything.” She responded, “Yeah, not much.”

Iowa was a great cross-section of what’s going on around the country. The public is pissed-off. The politicians aren’t listening. And Iowans are some of the best people to speak truth to power about this.

One of my favorite videos of the summer is from a southern Iowa townhall with Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) where a woman puts him on the hot seat. Grassley is visibly uncomfortable.



That’s all about Iowa for now. Oh yes, I did eat a pork-chop on a stick and I saw the butter cow.

-Tom Matzzie