Trying to cover the politicking right before the Iowa caucus is like trying to catch a greased pig. You can see it, you know others can do it, but you find yourself face down in the mud laughing even when you miss. I think I’m inspired by this analogy because I am staying across from the Iowa fairgrounds and am editing the country music Fred Thompson’s campaign uses.

But I have to say, it’s better than the hours of 70s and 80s power rock ballad-y type thing that most campaigns seem to think is most inspiring. “Ain’t That America”, “Don’t Stop Believing”… and the New Radicals “You Got The Music In You” from the 90s does not count as new and hip.

I digress. Trying to criss cross the over 56,000 square miles all by my lonesome to ask candidates and their supporters specific questions from people and stations is fun, but often frustrating. They schedule events at the same time, some don’t take any questions- even in this land of “retail” politics, and at an Obama event, it took me 45 minutes to get permission to interview a volunteer from Missouri- and that’s all after I spent just as long trying to FIND a volunteer from Missouri.

But the cool thing is I did. And he was really fun to listen to. So were the two high school students from Cincinnati who were learning how the caucus system works with 20 classmates by fundraising for months. And the hundreds of college students who drove here on their own money to spend a week of their holiday break to sleep on other volunteers’ floors to get Iowans to caucus for Ron Paul.

So, when all the focus is on the horse race tonight, it will be crazy trying to hit up as many candidates’ parties as possible for their response to the results (Des Moines IS spread out), but it will be a teeny bit anticlimactic, because the real story has been the people seriously committed to being part of our democratic process.

I’m attaching a picture of the person who really got me to understand this. His name is Jake Blitsch (“like son-of-a-Blitsch” he says). He’s an absolute riot. He was at my first event this week. In the town of Oelwein (population 6692 as of the 2000 census) where Chris Dodd spoke. But the event was secondary. Jake, a former candidate for State House, has seen every Democratic candidate at least three times. He’s hosted two campaign workers at his house for the last six months. He has dinners twice a month for all the transplanted young people who are living hand by mouth to work for their candidate. And Jake is there. For them, the candidates, and what he sees as duty to America- to fully participate in choosing the next President of the United States.