LA's mayor surfaces in Iowa

Another small confirmation that Iowa is the center of the political universe (at least for a few more days): Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa landed in Des Moines on Saturday afternoon and promptly set to campaigning for Hillary Clinton (who he long ago endorsed in the Democratic presidential race).

Villaraigosa hit a couple of supermarkets and met with Asian community leaders. His pitch: That in the "deepest and most talented field of Democratic candidates since I have been voting [1972], Sen. Clinton is still head and shoulders above the rest."

The words he repeated most: character, experience and strength.

Villaraigosa's commitment impressed some of those he encountered.

"So you flew in from Los Angeles, wow!" said college dean Glenna Ewing, on meeting hizzoner in the snack aisle of a Dahl's supermarket in Des Moines.

Actually, he arrived from Aspen, where he had skied with his children.

Ewing is precisely the type of voters campaigns hope to influence through surrogates -- she said she was having trouble deciding between Clinton and Barack Obama. Villaraigosa, however, apparently failed to earn his airfare in this instance -- after chatting with him, she still seemed to lean toward Obama because of, as she put it, "the change thing."

The mayor will continue his Iowa tour through New Year's Eve day. Then he goes back home for an appearance in the Rose Parade, before releasing statistics that he said would show "amazing" decreases in crime in L.A.

As for New Year's resolutions, Villaraigosa -- whose 2007 has been marked by personal tumult -- didn't say. But he was toting a copy of "The Voice of Knowledge: A Practical Guide to Inner Peace."

-- James Rainey

Comments

[DR Evans]

Most of Clinton's endorsements seem to come from politicians en route to and/or coming from ski vacations. Unsurprisingly, most Iowans are confronted with the reality of shoveling the snow in front of their homes and businesses. Which is probably why so many of them are turning away from the former first lady toward candidates like Obama, who are more concerned about the conditions of the roads in Iowa than the slopes of Aspen.