Shaking Hands with Bill Clinton

Being an Iowan is a unique perogative on a lot of things. Corn and pork dominate the state so agriculture is huge. The state is very WASP'y with some small pockets of diversity thrown in here and there. We have the Field of Dreams, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, and the world's largest wooden nickel.

However, nothing compares to the experience you get as an Iowan every four years when it is time to select candidates for President. Iowans probably take for granted the unrivaled access they get to candidates. They feign interest and complain about all the telephone calls, but then they get special moments like I got today.

50 feet. That is how far I was from the stage at Hillary Clinton's campaign rally. 50 feet from #42 Bill Clinton and his wife. Perhaps one of the most iconic political couples in American history. The experience was akin to a rock concert (also used for the Obama experience, although this crowd was probably only 1/3 of the crowd Obama pulled here). Hillary's speech was nothing special, she does not inspire. However, Bill Clinton was different, even with only 5 minutes. It is something to watch a born politician work. You could tell that Bill Clinton still had "it" and could sell "it" if he needed too. Sure his presence on the campaign trail indicates the Hillary campaign is concerned about surging Obama fundraising. Sure he was kept on a leash in order not to upstage his ordinary partner. But Bill Clinton is still a huge draw. The crowd clammored to be near him.

I was struck by one scene after Bill had spoken and stepped off the stage when an elderly woman reached out to give him a kiss on the cheek. Bill gave her a big hug and kissed her on the hand and then lingered by the rail holding on to the woman's hand. She simply stood there listening to Hillary stroking and patting Bill's hand...clearly comforted by someone that she had obviously deeply connected with in his time in power, even though she had clearly never met him. It was a striking portrait of the humanity that Bill Clinton had/has. The end of his Presidency stripped away some of his humanity but this small portrait demonstrated why he remains popular, and why someone so distantly removed from the common man, like George Bush, struggles so much with the "common man" image.

At any rate, after Hillary was done droning I was able to shoot from my seat and find a good chink in the line so I could get up close...and then I got the chance to shake the hand and look square into the eyes of some one who is an extrordinary man. Bill Clinton had a firm but gentle shake and was a bit damp from the humidity and pressing the flesh with the masses, but you could still see a fire and energy in his eyes. The experience was vastly better then shaking hands and staring into the lifeless eyes of John Kerry in 2004. Bill Clinton simply oozes humanity. He repeatedly said to the crowd, "I am happy to be here, now go work hard for Hillary", or other similar coments that seemed to take the focus off of him and onto his partner. The man is still class to me, and today will go down as a memorable one in my life.

Iowans are lucky and take for granted these moments. The chance to rub elbows with heros and charlatans and make the decisions about who is worthy to proceed is one that should not be taken lightly. But damn isn't it easy to get lost in the glitz of someone like Bill Clinton.