As most political junkies know, my union has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. So I fully expect this post will be read with the understanding that I’m not just in Iowa City to get the skinny on what really happened with Steve Alford – although that is a cool side benefit of being in the center of Hawkeye Nation.
Of course, many of the readers (and anonymous commentators) of this and similar political blogs have horses in any number of races, especially this year in New Mexico, so that comes with the territory.
After over a week in
Rock-and-roll high school
Of particular note was the Jefferson-Jackson dinner last Saturday. Thousands of Iowans, as well as people who have come from all over
It was a bizarre combination of high-school basketball game, high-school prom and the highest-stakes political event in years. Thousands of signs, printed and handmade, were duct-taped to every available surface, including almost every inch of ceiling.
That’s to say nothing of, literally, the cheerleaders for each candidate running up and down the aisles to coach the fans in each section about what to say at what parts of speeches. Or the chants – “We’ve got spirit, yes we do, we’ve got spirit, how ‘bout YOU!” – that actually (and somewhat strangely) seemed a bit more organic.
I almost expected an appearance from the Ridgemont High Spirit Bunnies. One enterprising campaign based in
Unified theory of energy
Slightly goofy political-science/high-school theater aside, it was a meaningful night not for the cheers that divided the hall but for the ones that united it.
The pundits were all talking the next day about how Barack Obama is sharpening his elbows for a stretch-run with Hillary, and how Hillary is trying to distance herself from Obama with experience. But the real story, it seemed to me, was the near-unanimous agreement on policy, particularly with respect to energy.
One thing every Dem emphasized was that a new, high-tech energy policy can set this country back on track on a number of fronts.
Dems are acing their energy final, and the people assigning grades in
That doesn’t mean energy’s not registering: Dems have figured out that alternative energy is a positive way to tie all of the big issues of the day together. They’re talking solutions, and that’s generating an attitude among Iowa Dems that they’ve got a great group of people from whom to choose.
We all get that
Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce may want to get their heads out of the tar pits on this one. Did those checks from Exxon-Mobil already clear?
The revolution will not be televised. Yet.
Maybe the least commented-upon major scientific development in ages was the discovery by scientists at
If the study was on TV, it wasn’t for more than one-tenth the news-cycle length devoted to the latest update on Britney Spears’ weekend clubbing.
Good for the Nittany Lions, or whatever the scientists there call themselves. Turns out that investing in universities can do a heck of a lot for taxpayers, and not just in football.
The breakthrough was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I really can’t vouch for PNAS personally, but it sounds impressive. You can read an article about it by clicking here.
We’re on the verge of a major revolution in energy. As with civil rights, personal liberty, trade policy, fiscal responsibility and war, the national GOP is taking the country in the wrong direction.
Its leaders don’t see what virtually everyone else in
The revolution is not being televised, but after seeing the Iowa Dems’ energy on energy up close, I’d wager it gets more than its 15 minutes of fame come January 2009.
Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME in