Word: iowa
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...play such a major role. They just happen to live in a state that just happened to become "first" and "important" - an unlikely position that is truly just a historical accident, the unintended consequence of several developments: Democratic party rule changes in the late 1960s that pushed Iowa earlier, shrewd Democratic presidential campaigns in the 1970s that used the caucuses to gain attention, and a few eagle-eyed national journalists...
...made a conscious decision to say 'Iowa should be first,'" says Redlawsk. "I'm not sure anyone would have invented this process." Yet Iowans have risen to the occasion, becoming "the most politically knowledgeable and aware voters in the country," argues Redlawsk, a New Jersey native and an active Iowa Democrat. "The system actually works quite well, despite its oddities and limitations. It's an accident that's panned out very well...
...Iowans deserve some credit for the many town hall meetings attended, the many questions asked, the many speeches endured? Surely the white-haired man who sat beside me in the bleachers at a candidate's event, diligently taking notes, deserves a gentle pat on the back. So do the Iowa high school kids who marched in neighborhood parades behind candidates' floats. And the volunteers who have canvassed for candidates door to door, rain (snow, sleet, freezing fog) or shine...
...typical image of Iowa is we're this kind of beige state, this boring place," says Hejtmanek. "Usually Iowans are apologizing for where they live. That's not the case with caucus season...
...there with the Iowa State Fair and the state high school basketball tournament, the caucuses have become a defining event for Iowans - and a task they've embraced. "We have a job to do and people are watching," says Tom Morain, a state historian. "But once the circus moves on, I don't think we expect anyone to continue to pay attention to us. We'll want to think that we acted responsibly, that we took the measure of the candidates and did a respectable...