Taking A Stand: Since when does Iowa rule country?
Silly me. All these years I thought I was supposed to make up my own mind about who to vote for based on who would do the best job.
But, it seems I’ve got it all wrong if I’m reading the Democratic race for president correctly. Instead of voting for the candidate who I feel is the best, the one who I most closely identify with, I’m supposed to vote for the one everyone else thinks is going to be the winner.
Specifically, if I’m seeing this right, I’m supposed to allow the people of Iowa to tell me who I should vote for. After all, they must be the enlightened ones, visited by the ghost of Hubert H. Humphrey, who reveals to them a revelation of who should be the front-runner.
Just a month ago, Howard Dean was inaugurated as the heir-apparent to the Democratic nomination, until the people of Iowa decided a liberal could not win the presidency and found themselves a new poster boy in their anti-Bush campaign. Frankly, they were right since Dean was dead in the water in a matchup against Bush even before his “I have a scream” speech where he yelled the names of random states (of which Tennessee was omitted) and then ended which a rebel yell that would have gotten him star billing on Hee-Haw.
So, in their wisdom, the people of Iowa, who it appears speak for all good Democrats in this country, decided John Kerry, a guy who was barely a blip in the earlier polls, was the man to take up the fallen Dean banner. And, with the example set, the people of New Hampshire also gave Kerry the nod, followed by almost every other state.
Now it would have been one thing if Kerry had been seen as a challenge all along, but this wasn’t the case before the Iowa caucuses. The people of the pig and corn state, realizing Dean was not viable, did a quick check and decided they could dress Kerry up and present him to the masses. And, unlike a state-wide primary like we have where everyone can vote, this endorsement was made in meetings where only hard-core party members participate. The confusing and exclusive ways caucuses are handled was one thing Dean was right about when he was exposed criticizing them.
With this said, why is it that people, and this includes Democrats and Republicans, tend to vote for who they think will win. Do they earn bonus travel miles for picking the winner? Is there a prize drawing for persons who vote for the winner?
Now don’t sit there and tell me that within the last month Kerry has suddenly materialized with the best message. Exit polls show that most Democrats who voted most closely identify with the John Edwards message, yet, the masses are voting for Kerry because they think he can beat Bush. This really has noting to do with whether he is the best candidate, but instead his ability to win the main election.
Personally, I think they’ve got it wrong. Both guys are rich and tied to special interests, both guys are part of the longtime political establishment, and both guys voted to go to Iraq. Their only real differences are nit-picking differences which will be magnified and overblown during the main campaign to actually make them look different. And, as to which is more liberal, that’s not even clear anymore as some staunch conservative Republicans will confess only in hushed tones.
I believe the toughest opponent for Bush would have been Edwards since he seems to have that empathy quality like Bill Clinton had where voters can identify with him. Voters eat that stuff up. But hey, if the Democrats are content with letting Iowa pick their candidate, even if he is a rich Yankee (and you don’t win the White House without the South) then have at it.
(Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at news@southernstandard.com.)