Iowa08: Archives

MEHA AHMAD writes:
I am by no means a political junkie. In fact, politics is probably the one field I have actively shied away from, keeping my distance and hoping it keeps its own. When watching WGN, I focus on local news, entertainment, health, and weather. But the moment anchor Allison Payne reads, for example, the Dick Cheney or Richard Daley article slowly moving up the teleprompter, I can't click away fast enough.

What I do happen to know about politics is completely based on sporadic viewings of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." Middle-aged (and some much more than middle-aged) white men with their power struggles and mud-slinging campaigns—whether it's in the presidential, aldermanic, or mayoral elections—don't hold my interest, especially in the last few years. The current presidential administration, I feel, is disappointing and leaves much to be desired, alienating me further. At least Bill Clinton kept things interesting.

This alienation and disinterest hasn't helped me, however, and leaves this aspiring journalist pretty much out of the loop.

So when I heard about a J-term class at Columbia that will cover the Iowa caucuses, I immediately signed up. What a fantastic opportunity, I thought to myself. Of course I hope I pass, but even if I don't, I'll walk away with a great experience.

Maybe, as an amateur in politics, I'm biting off more than I can chew, but I hope I can rise to the challenge. And no, I hadn't really heard much on presidential candidate Mitt Romney before I pulled his name from a mug depicting Richard Nixon and Elvis arm in arm. But so what? I've got Google! I've got Wikipedia! Or...er...LexisNexis. I'm not going to let my blatant political ignorance slow me down.

Meha Ahmad is an undergraduate journalism student from Bridgeview, Illinois.

Meha Ahmad writes:

7:00 a.m. (12 hours to caucus): Ignored my alarm.

7:30 a.m. (11 1/2 hours to caucus): Rushed out the door 15 minutes late.

8:30 a.m. (10 1/2) hours to caucus): I was at Panera Bread, where it was rumored loads of Republicans spent their mornings. I sat with locals from Scott County, schmoozing with Republicans and Democrats. Everyone has an opinion in Iowa. There were also "split households" where members of the same family were voting not only for different candidates, but different parties. One woman joked that her husband won't give her a ride to the caucus unless she caucuses for Republican candidate Romney. Meanwhile, her son planned to caucus for Democrat Barack Obama.

9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.: Iowa State Senator David Hartsuch came to Panera Bread. One of the most personable people I've ever met, he reminds me nothing of distant Illinois politicians. Hartsuch, a Huckabee endorser, showed us the caucus ropes, gave me great insight into the campaign, and he shuttled my fellow classmates and I to various places, including Mitt Romney's Bettendorf campaign office. There he introduced me to at least a half dozen people—other politicians, Romney's campaign coordinator, volunteers, caucus-goers—all of whom helped my article move along further. Meanwhile, I can hardly get an Illinois politician to reply to an email, let alone get them to spend the morning showing me around.

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (2 hours to caucus): LUNCH! Oh, and internally losing my mind over the stress of trying to sort through 30 pages of notes and transcribing an hour of interviews into a coherent article.

6:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.: Arrive early at Republican caucus to find Romney/Huckabee/McCain/Thompson/Paul/Giuliani/Hunter (more than unlikely).

6:20 p.m. (40 minutes to caucus): Interviews.

6:35 (25 minutes to caucus): I snag some swag, i.e., a Mitt Romney foam mitt, Ron Paul stickers.

7:00 p.m. (Ding ding ding!): IOWA CAUCUS. The ballots are cast.

10:00 p.m.: Obama (Democrat) and Huckabee (Republican) are declared winners.

10:01 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.: Finished article, time to sleep.

And this was just Day 2. Day 1, our hotel was on fire. Never a boring day in Iowa.

Meha Ahmad is an undergraduate journalism student from Bridgeview, Illinois.

MEHA AHMAD writes:
Behold! Four days in Iowa has made the political junkie I never thought I could be manifest. I can now watch Meet the Press and understand every word of political jargon that show dishes out. Bring it on, Tim Russert. Bring it on.

My experience in Iowa—talking to caucus-goers and political-science experts, spending time at Mitt Romney's campaign office, hanging out with the campaign staff and volunteers, and then actually going to the caucuses and writing our article for it under deadline and all that crazy stuff—was pretty amazing. And amazingly exhausting. Apparently, sleep was for the weak during this trip.

Iowa, believe it or not, actually did have a lot to offer. But I work better with lists. So here ya go:

Top Five Things Iowa Has that Illinois Wishes It Had:

5. Schnuck's (a grocery store). What a....cool but extremely weird name for a grocery store. Why do we have boring grocery-store names like Jewel?

4. Whitey's (an ice cream shop). Some of the greatest milkshakes in the Midwest. But the best thing? The borderline racist name and the random T-shirts that read, "Now You Know You're Home."

3. Hungry Hobo (sandwich shop). Honestly, it's just these wacky names I like.

2. Awesome state senators who spend a ridiculous amount of time making sure you have more than enough interviews and material for your article, especially on caucus day, when he's probably got better things to do than shuttle Columbia students around, but instead makes CBS wait to interview him until he's sure we have all the material we need. (You rule, Senator Hartsuch!) Meanwhile, it's been a week, and you're still waiting for some random Chicago official to return an email about the CTA or security in schools.

1. Nice people at Starbucks who, when your hotel catches on fire and you run to their establishment for shelter from the cold, will offer you free pastries. That's class.

P.S. Thanks Suzanne and John for a great trip and learning experience! Also, for the hours of lost sleep just so we could get our grades back in the morning. You rawk. =]

Meha Ahmad is an undergraduate journalism student from Bridgeview, Illinois.