After doing some canvassing in Iowa on Saturday, it doesn't look good for Hillary Clinton [View All]

[zulchzulu]

I did some canvassing this past Saturday in a couple towns in western Iowa with about 70 other people who were volunteering their time to go out in the cold, overcast day. There were some flurries in the air a couple times during the day. People are getting ready for the Winds of Thor.

As we all gathered at the Obama headquarters and went through some basics on canvassing, we went about our appointed routes in the Dubuque neighborhoods.

As you get to these locations teamed by with fellow Iowans, you are off alone to walk these neighborhoods in the cold wind and up and down the hills. You can see the pride in these working class communities with seasonal decorations adorning modest homes. Occasionally, you see American flags in support of a son or daughter who are serving overseas. Many are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan from the Iowa National Guard 1-133rd. Some of the notes on the canvassing route sheets point you out to the homes of those who made a point of letting the Obama campaign know.

There were five of us in my group, all representing a wide cultural and generational mix. When we all figured we'd meet back in a couple hours, little did we know how much people wanted to talk to us. It turned out that everyone was out walking the streets for about three hours in the 30 degree windy day.

One thing you notice when you venture off on your own when you canvass is that while you assume that you may be interrupting people by knocking on their doors, they are usually appreciative to see someone out there in the cold dedicated enough to spend time for a cause. For me, I got to talk to 30 people out of a possible 64 homes listed on my route. Many of the homes that I canvassed seemed to have entry sidewalks that were perfectly designed to making it to the front door a long process, hence giving the residents ample warning to see who was approaching.

The funniest/semi-disturbing visit was when I knocked on the door of a home where there was a noted Obama supporter. I wanted to make sure that he was going to caucus for Obama. He answered the door and we talked for a minute or two. I got him to sign a card saying he wants to caucus when, all of a sudden, his wife showed up and glared at me noticing my Obama hat. She started yelling at me that she is "for Hillary" and I have to leave. I laughed and looked at the guy. He winked and said he'd talk to the campaign later. As I left and walked down the sidewalk, I could hear her yelling at him. I just had to laugh.

There was a woman who answered the door and said I could come in. She had a Hillary Clinton yard sign on her lawn, although it looked like a kid had run over it with a bike. She offered me pancakes and wanted to know more about Obama. I told her I already ate (I was starving, but...) when suddenly a pit bull dog came out of the basement and started nibbling on my shoe. She said the dog was friendly, but I had another idea.... leave her some information and get the hell out of there. I asked about the Hillary yard sign and she said she was about to throw it out. "Some kid in the neighborhood had put some of those things on people's lawns", she said.

I had heard about how mostly senior citizens were given Hillary Clinton yard signs by some kids in the neighborhood. How could they say no. It turns out that the yard signs were rarely for solid Clinton supporters as was evident with other campaign canvassers who would ask about them.

There were a number of homes where Edwards canvassers had left off what looked like a small book for people to look at. I didn't disturb the literature, but it looked pretty pricey. I think it was focused towards people who had caucused in earlier elections. It was cool to see others out there.

One thing that became very evident in talking with the people I and others in my group talked to was that Hillary Clinton was not considered a second choice by nearly any of the people who supported Edwards, Obama, Richardson, Kucinich, Biden or Dodd. How that is critical is if certain candidates don't have the 15% viability threshold in the caucus first round, they have to go to their second choice. That could be a complete disaster for the Clinton caucus folks.

We'll see how the next 48 days go.