October Saturdays in Iowa City are usually reserved for Hawkeye football, but for Johnson County politicos, nothing takes precedent over the Johnson County Democrats’ annual barbeque fundraiser. This year was no exception as an estimated 2000 Democrats swarmed in mass to the Johnson County Fairgrounds to hear five of the Democratic hopefuls put forth their best efforts to woo Democrat activists.

Five of the Democratic candidates took the stage in the fairground barn, including (in order of appearance) Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Hillary Clinton of New York. Academy Award winning actor Forest Whitaker spoke on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, and Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden spoke on behalf of his father, Sen. Joe Biden of Deleware, who was in New Hampshire delivering the keynote address at the Coos County Democrats Harry S. Truman Dinner.

Passersby and those entering the fairgrounds were greeted with a barrage of campaign signs lining the street, as the campaigns’ foot soldiers picked up where the Sign War left off at the Harkin Steak Fry.. The war had dramatically dropped off after the September sign surge in Indianola, sign pundits hypothesizing that campaigns are actually putting them in supporters’ yards. Borrowing precepts from the Cold War, the Sign War tries to serve as a deterrent for second-tier candidates, as top-tier candidates attempt to solidify their superpower stature by seeing who can stockpile the most signs.But this theory falls through the cracks if any one of the candidates is harboring a doomsday sign; such was case with the Biden Campaign’s “Ears of Experience” sign. Not only does the sign play to an Iowa audience, but Biden’s Deputy Press-Secretary Annie Tomasini informed me that all the corn is hand-picked from Iowa farms of Biden supporters.

Speaking of ears and war, a Johnson County political gathering would not be complete without an anti-war contingency drumming up support for peace. As cars meandered around the first bend of the road leading to the field of parking dreams, car passengers’ eardrums were filled with the steady beat of the Iowans for Peace drums.

While the barbeque pork and food was housed in one building, the political speeches were relegated to the swine barn. Despite the industrial fan blowing at the barn’s entrance, the crowd was consumed by the omnipresent heat and humidity. Despite the sweltering heat in the barn, I-Renew’s (Iowa Renewable Energy Association) global-warming snowman refused to melt. When asked about the heat, the snowman had a few choice words not suitable for print; granted, some of these words were lost in translation.

Campaign banners dripped from the barn’s rafters, thus transforming the swine barn into a political arena ripe for a cattle call.

All of the political action, however, was not relegated to inside the barn, for a number of happenings unfolded out back.

Richardson and Elizabeth Edwards shake hands, presumably agreeing to disagree who would make the best vice president candidate: her husband John or Richardson?

A group of young Obama supporters, most of whom won’t be eligible to vote by the time the caucuses hit Iowa, gathered to welcome Obama’s surrogate speaker, Forest Whitaker. In this context, it only makes sense that the surrogate speaker is shepherded in by surrogate supporters. Nonetheless, it’s great to see children getting involved at a young age, before it is too late and they’re left behind with the 50 percent of eligible voters who neglect their civic responsibility on election day.

As Whitaker shook hands and signed autographs, all I could think about was the prospect of drafting him to run for president. I imagined the movie star, who played the dictator Gen. Idi Amin in the movie “The Last-King-of Scotland,” espousing his populist message on the stump in Iowa. Better yet, the Draft-Whitaker Campaign already has a catchy slogan that will resonate with most eligible voters: “Run, Forest, Run…”

Despite Whitaker’s appearance and the rest of the high-profile political dignitaries, the highlight of the evening came when the man of many hats, Iowa Independent’s very own John Deeth, was named “Johnson County Activist of the Year.”

Speaking of Deeth who was sporting a raspberry beret, his official blog hat, be sure to check out his play-by-play of the cattle call. And if you’re looking to vicariously live or relive the moment through video, be sure to watch Adam Burke’s video footage of Richardson and Whitaker.


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  • out-of-towner
    No to Hillary! In the name of all that's right and good, I'm beseeching Iowans to stay firm and vote John Edwards in. Hillary is the WRONG candidate for America. Before one vote has even been cast, the corporations and MSM already are declaring her leading in Iowa and the winner of the party! Keep America's vote alive.  Vote her out.  It's up to you, Iowa.
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