Opinion: A sweaty encounter in a Holiday Inn workout room

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Ah, the glamour of travel and campaigning for the presidency.

Gov. Bill Richardson was going for his regular morning workout the other day. He headed for the small exercise room at the Holiday Inn in Mason City, Iowa, where he had spent the night after a long day of campaigning across eastern Iowa. Candidates grab these rare moments to themselves as often as allowed by a crammed travel and speaking schedule designed by others comfortable back at headquarters.

As Richardson climbed onto the eleptical machine (easier on candidate’s knees as well as everyone else’s, don’t you know), he realized a familiar figure was occupying the stairmaster to his left. There was none other than John Edwards, also in town for a campaign event, sweating away.

Their talk quickly turned to a third candidate, Barack Obama, who was not in the room working out.

As noted by The Times’ Louise Roug, who has taken up residence in the Hawkeye state to follow campaign after campaign, Richardson told this story to crowds the rest of the day:

‘John says, ‘Bill, I’ve seen three Obama ads already. Boy, this guy’s got money.’ ‘ Richardson used the little encounter as a rhetorical segue into a new favorite point about positive campaigning after the MSNBC debate. Remember, how he stood up against the steady attacks against Clinton?

‘We’re all reasonably good friends,’ Richardson said, although few viewers of recent TV sound bites would walk away to their exercise room with any impression close to that.

-- Andrew Malcolm