11:39 and hello from downtown Iowa City. Regular civilian caucusgoers are just entering the room -- they were lined up to fill the lobby, but the larger than usual press corps was let in early.
Tim Robbins is Iowa City's second Oscar winning campaigner this year; Barack Obama sent Forrest Whitaker to the county party barbecue in October. He's no Oprah, but still Hollywood A list or at least A minus list.
Room is rapidly filling up toward a 200 or so capacity. (My own precinct caucus Jan. 3 will be in this very room, so I have one small brain lobe thinking Jan. 3 logistics.)
11:45. Edwards was iced in yesterday in Iowa City but made the most of it, hitting the Hamburg Inn and making the rounds with local supporters Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek and Supervisor Terrence Neuzil.
A lot of the crowd looks like committed Edwardians, but I saw a couple known Obama interlopers.
11:56 and loud chanting is starting, despite the library location. I expect a giant SSSSSH but don't hear one. Instead I hear James Brown on the speakers, "I Got You." GO JOHN GO say the chanters. Purple SEIU shirts in the front row.
Setup is different: Chairs arranged in circular rows, with Edwards speaking from the middle of the room.
UI computer science professor Doug Jones, the "Yoda of voting equipment," says he hasn't made up his mind, and reports getting the Ron Paul robocall to registered Dems. The Tom Carsner Spin Of The Day is polls showing Edwards beating Republican rivals by wider margins than Clinton or Obama. The CNN headline, however, is Huckabee losing by wide margins to all Dems. When you're a candidate, they coach you not to answer surveys unless there's money and an endorsement attached -- and the years after-the-fact use of Huckabee's 1992 answers is one reason why. Huckabee's opponent in that race, Dale Bumpers, didn't complete the AP survey. He won.
12:04 and the press corps is chit-chatting amongst ourselves. Edwards is at present meeting with the Iowa City Press-Citizen editorial board. More press than usual, also more unfamiliar faces as national types start showing up more and more at this stuff. I'm counting nine TV cameras. Whether that's the Hollywood Factor or the 22 days out factor is hard to say.
Chanting has resumed, mostly from the SEIU purple shirts. Music continues but the crowd chit chat drowns it out. Small fragments of the oldie "Rescue Me" by Fontella Bass drift in and out. Physical movement across the room is next to impossible.
Big American flag on one wall, big Iowa flag on another. I noticed at Loebsack's event Saturday, the backdrop was an Iowa flag rather than Stars and Stripes. Are candidates tiring of the Patton Shot, trying to send a I Heart Iowa Message?
Now THIS is great campaign music: a shot of "Beggar's Banquet." "Salt of the Earth" by the Rolling Stones. Single best stage music of the cycle. And on message.
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth
And when I search a faceless crowd
A swirling mass of gray and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
In fact, they look so strange
Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let's drink to the uncounted heads
Let's think of the wavering millions
Who need leaders but get gamblers instead
Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio
And when I look in the faceless crowd
A swirling mass of grays and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
Or don't they look so strange
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the three thousand million
Let's think of the humble of birth
I wonder who had that brilliant idea. They deserve a raise or a Cabinet post.
Now we have Stevie Ray Vaughn, "The House Is Rockin'," which J.R.E. has been using as walk-on music for a while.
12:26 and the bus -- "Main Street Express" -- is outside. Tried to scoop the room but the TV folks get really grouchy when you move around, so I may be anchored to my spot. The volume of the music and chanting just went up... "we love Elizabeth/John/White House lawn," you know the drill.
Sarah Swisher of SEIU is handling introductory duties. Plays on her nurse status and says Edwards has "only true universal health care plan." S-E-I-U goes the chant. She's introing Robbins.
12:32 and Robbins is on. First line out of his mouth is "I'm not Oprah."
Notes the criticism of actors being active, says he talks and studies people in all walks of life.
"Most of us don't take the bait of hatred and fear. We want our country to live up to its values."
"We are owed the truth. And yes, celebrity culture is part of the problem. It's not what I know, it's what YOU know." Where is voice of regular people in national debate. "Can you imagine hundreds of reporters following a working mother to get her opinion on food prices?" Several more examples in this vein and using it to hut the laundry list of issues.
Robbins is staying close to a prepped script. Says he talked to vets on a layover in O'Hare and they aren't voting GOP.
"We are being polled to death. Eight months ago, we were sold a fiction that this is a two person race."
"There is one man who is neck and neck with these two in the poll. Long before the cameras were there, John Edwards was reaching out and working with the poor and working men and women in this country.""There is a third person in this race, and I have a feeling he'll be pulling ahead. Maybe that's because Americans recognize a man of integrity when they see one. Maybe that's because Americans recognize a man who will take on the special interests."
Edwards takes stage to the Mellencamp pickup truck anthem "This Is My Country." Touts law enforcement endorsements (including Sheriff Lonny). Cites the CNN poll that the locals were spinning. "One Democrat beats every single Republican - (cheers) - I wouldn't have brought it up unless you knew the answer. When I'm on that debate stage with whoever it is, we'll give the American people some very clear choices." Hits the bullet points: war, health care, gas prices, global warming, etc. with a"vote for them" vs "vote for me" cadence. Trade, more, more. Moves into the lobbyist rap while I shoot photos.
Tells the story again of the man with the cleft palate but says his age as "51," so he must have had a birthday. "How long are we going to let the drug companies and insurance companies run this country? James Rowe got his voice back, now it's time to get your voice back."
"The men and women who worked in that mill are worth every bit as much as a president of the United States of America" concludes a set of son of a millworker stories.
It's time for us to rise up. Right, now, here in Iowa, you can feel the American people rising." "When we speak for ___________ (series of things), America Rises. We are going to rise again."
Some by name Bush-bashing. But despite the "I'm polling best" intro, I'm not hearing the names of other Democrats yet. That was also omitted Saturday. "You get to decide who you can trust." Crowd yells "John Edwards." "You gotta let them judge for themselves," he quips.
Q & A coming up soon.
"The powerful interests will give their power away... when we take it away. You better have a fighter."
Dump patriot act? "Yes." All combat troops out in first year. Close Gitmo, stop rendition, stop "illegal spying on American people - and use that word deliberately." Applause to each.
How will you respond on the war and security so independents will listen? "You can be strong and smart at the same time." Will create an environment in the world that undermines terrorism - by meeting America's responsibility to humanity. "If they see America as meeting its responsibility toward humanity, it will pull people toward us." That isolates extremists.
Fixing Social Security and disability component of it. JRE: against privatization, raising age or cutting benefits. As for the cap, "those millionaires on Wall Street ought to be paying their share." Lift cap above 200k. Edwards says "Sosecurity" a couple times. Regular people do that a lot.
No Child Left Behind. "No child ever learned anything filling out a bubble on a standardized test. I have a friend down south who says You don't fatten a hog by weighing it." Admits he stole the very good line. Would change it or scrap it. Universal pre-K education, national teaching university. Opposes merit pay, but bonuses for teaching in tough areas. We have two school systems -- doesn't say Two Americas but it's in there.
1:11 PM. Short term reduction of gas prices. JRE: stop subsidizing oil companies, Justice Dept. investigation of big oil. Crowd member interrupts with "the guy at the gas station isn't making the money." That's right says Edwards.
Follow up on long term energy. Edwards: Carbon cap, reduce it each year, reduce 80% by 2050. "Now we might have to do more." Auction off permits to make polluters pay, use $ to make polluters pay. First by name reference: says unlike Obama and Clinton he opposed nuke power. Moratorium on coal fired plants. Uses Patriotic About Something Other Than War line. (Aside: no Elizabeth's Fine at the beginning.)
Makes the pitch. "You came out in the ice which is a very good sign for Jan. 3." Wraps at 1:17 with another Rise Up reference -- followed, on cue, by Springsteen and "The Rising."
Handshake scrum has a lot of late in the season boom mikes. Robbins is autographing movies, the only specific title I see is "Cradle Will Rock" not Shawshank. Will Bob Roberts be the running mate?
In a sure sign of late season, international press is showing up, I get nudged aside by Irish TV.
Shouted question: "Mr. Robbins! Are you still with Susan Sarandon?" He looks up and nods his head looking very happy. (Well, duh, who wouldn't be?) "How does she feel about Senator Edwards?" Robbins gives a thumbs up. (She's campaigning for him soon.)
Media time very short. He leads with the GOP debate and how much he's looking forward to debating their nominee, cites the CNN poll. again.
Corn subsidies? "Corn ethanol is part of the solution... ultimately ethanol is a pathway to other fuels." Limit payments to $250k so not to subsidize corporate.
War: "There are some differences between the Dem candidates on these issues." Briefly names Clinton, Obama.
1:52 and Elvis has left the building. Edwards and Robbins chit-chatted with the SEIU folks outside the bus. Robbins puffed a cigarette fast before getting on what's almost certainly a no-smoking bus: "Smokers for Edwards! Smokers for health care later!" He seemed pleased with the talk, but "I just gotta learn my lines." "Say hi to Susan for us!" yells a purple shirt from California.
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