Is this democracy? No, it's Iowa.

Notgruntled - Is this democracy? No, it's Iowa.

Andy

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Is this democracy? No, it's Iowa.	[Aug. 13th, 2011\|12:43 pm]
This weekend is one of the cherished quadrennial rituals of our democracy. Every media outlet from CNN to Beanie Babies Quarterly* has a satellite truck in Ames, Iowa, so that their reporters can do four live shots an hour on how irrelevant the Straw Poll is. The straw poll is an easily rigged, endlessly gamed non-event that has a historically poor record of predicting who wins the Iowa caucuses, which are themselves a poor predictor of who gets the presidential nomination. I know this because CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, AEIOU(Y), Fox News, the New York Times, the Washington Post, I Can Has Cheezburger, and BBQ* told me so. They also provided in-depth investigative pieces on who has the coolest tent (air conditioning is a big thing), and -- because it is a statutory requirement when a reporter goes to a state fair -- what kinds of crazy shit people are coating in batter and deep-frying these days. This year, all of the buzz is over the new candidate who isn't there (Rick Perry, off declaring in South Carolina); the putative front-running candidate who is there but not participating (Mitt Romney, at the Iowa State Fair so he can rally his supporters to get out and not vote); and the non-candidate whose never-ending bus vacation serendipitously turns up wherever cameras are (do you really need to ask?). Then there is the field of sort-of contenders who are mostly interesting because some will likely become non-candidates after today's non-event. And Thad McCotter, whose name no one knows, which is a pity because it's a pretty cool name. We face daunting challenges in This Greatest Nation on God's Green and Fecund Earth, and we need serious people to lead us in this time of trial. When the candidates scramble over each other to pander to the tea party faction of the Republican base, treating "tax" is such a dirty word that small nails are eyed with great suspicion, it's important to have the Fourth Estate on the case to ask the hard question: "Have you tried the fried butter on a stick?" * I made Beanie Babies Quarterly up. If it actually exists, don't tell me.
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