Former U.S. Senator from Virginia Jim Webb and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley kicked off the run up to the Iowa Caucuses on Friday at the Polk County Democrats Spring Awards Dinner in Des Moines. Polk is a Democratic county where Bruce Braley won the 2014 U.S. Senate race with 50 percent of the vote. Democrats presented former Congressman Neil Smith with a lifetime achievement award at the pork chop dinner.
My press credentials were not approved, so I live-streamed the speeches of Webb and O’Malley on C-Span. The view was actually better than what I may have had in person. Someone in the room direct messaged me on twitter to ask where I was sitting, which was funny.
We all get to describe the event using the same English language, including depiction of “hoots and hollers,” usage of which I did not swipe from this CNN person I never heard of until last night.
Biggest O’Malley applause line of the night comes after he stresses the importance of unions. Hoots and hollers, standing ovation.
— Dan Merica (@danmericaCNN) April 11, 2015
@GovernorOMalley pushing the needed issue buttons. Hearing hoots and hollers from audience. #iacaucus
— Paul Deaton (@PaulDeaton_IA) April 11, 2015
My takeaway from the speeches was that O’Malley told a better story, but Webb had the better story, one worth paying attention to as the run up to the caucuses unfolds.
This Democratic event felt less like a scene from Alice in Wonderland as the mad tea party of Republicans often does.
According to multiple anonymous sources, Hillary Clinton will announce her second bid to become president in a twitter message on Sunday. Because of Hillary’s prominence in American society, there will be a media frenzy which may eclipse whatever good Webb and O’Malley did yesterday.
Here are some of my tweets from last night:
Blog For Iowa 