Opinion: Pack up those traveling shoes
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Iowans don’t take kindly to getting stiffed by candidates running for president, as a Washington Post follow-up story on the Republican straw poll in Ames made clear. And they aren’t much impressed by political gimmicks, as we were reminded by Tommy Thompson’s departure from the Republican presidential race following his dismal performance in the weekend balloting.
As a long-shot candidate, Thompson didn’t have much choice but to focus virtually all of his energy on Iowa. And as part of that, he proudly pledged to visit all of its 99 counties.
He hit that mark in advance of the straw poll, but that couldn’t keep him from finishing sixth. Republicans in such counties as Pottawattamie, Winneshiek, Allamakee and Appanoose may have appreciated that Thompson dropped by (and presumably got the pronunciations correct), but that didn’t spur them to travel a fair number of miles on a hot, humid Saturday to support him.
Similarly, Iowa’s Democrats were unmoved by the swarm of out-of-state volunteers who, donning garish orange caps, went door-to-door in the days before the 2004 caucus on behalf of Howard Dean. His once bright hopes for the Democratic Party’s nomination imploded with his third-place showing (and his subsequent ‘I Have a Scream’ speech).
And then there was Republican Lamar Alexander and his ...
comfy red-and-black plaid shirt.
It had worked for him in Tennessee, where he walked the state wearing the shirt and won the governor’s office in 1978. He adopted the same trademark in pursuing the presidency in 1996. He hoped to finish first in that year’s Iowa caucus; he ended up third and was never a factor in the race after that.
Democrat Bruce Babbitt made a particularly grueling effort to attract the hearts and minds of Iowans as he geared up for his 1988 presidential run. In the summer of 1986, he entered the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (known as ‘Ragbrai’) and over the course of a week pedaled roughly 400 miles across the state.
The exercise no doubt was great for Babbitt’s physical well-being, but it didn’t much affect his political status. He never gained traction in the state and finished fourth when the caucuses rolled around. His presidential campaign ended a short while later. (For history buffs who want a taste of the positive press that Babbitt often received, we recommend this article from Time.)
Indulge our own trek down history lane one more moment. Thompson’s commitment to set foot in every Iowa county also reminded us of what may be the most famous --- and ill-conceived --- travel vow in U.S. campaign history. That would be Richard Nixon’s promise to visit all 50 states during his 1960 quest for the presidency.
The hard-fought, down-to-the-wire campaign was in its home stretch when Nixon, in order to keep his word, flew to Alaska. That’s a time-consuming trip now; it was even more so then. And as it became painfully clear to him and his supporters when the votes were counted a few days later, his time could have been much better spent in Illinois and the one or two other states where razor-thin margins tipped the election to John Kennedy.
-- Don Frederick