My First Caucus

It was standing room only in precinct 315 in West Des Moines. Attending my first caucus had kept me excited all week, and now I was finally there. The noise level slowly climbed from a low hum to a rapid buzz. People filed in, heading to their corners and sporting stickers for Clinton, Obama, Edwards and the rest. From the youthful look of others in the room, it was many peoples’ first caucus. The Obama tables filled up first, then Clinton’s. Soon, the elementary school cafeteria was packed, and crowds of people stood along the walls. These are my neighbors, I thought to myself. Yet I had never seen them before.

Everyone seemed to be smiling, eager to enjoy the process. I smiled too and felt happy that I was part of it. After months of political commercials, phone calls and newspaper articles, I was finally casting my vote. We took a head count the way you do in grade school, with everyone calling out a number. It was a packed house and people strained to look as the numbers were ticked off—254 in the end. Applause broke out when the precinct chairman announced the total from atop a lunch table. He said it was a record.

We then counted the number of supporters for each candidate. There were 106 for Obama, 47 for Clinton, 42 for Edwards, 25 each for Biden and Richardson, three for Dodd and seven undecided. The people whose candidates didn’t make 15 percent of the vote had the chance to switch. I thought there would be organized speeches to try and sway them, but it was chaos as people yelled and waved their arms. I hadn’t seen a group of Iowans that excited since, well, never. Chanting matches broke out between rival factions, with Obama’s supporters yelling O-BA-MA while Clinton’s and Edwards tried to silence them with cheers of their own.

In the end, Obama got two delegates, while Biden, Clinton and Edwards each received one. I’m glad I caucused. I felt good about Iowa, and good about America. Things can’t be all that bad when 254 neighbors can gather in a cafeteria and good-naturedly pick a candidate.