Iowa's Bigger Than They Thought

The big news today, as reported in the Des Moines Register, is that the Democratic presidential candidates have discovered Iowa extends west beyond Des Moines and all the way to the Missouri River.

Republicans hold a huge registration edge in the western third of the state, so Democrats in recent campaigns "gave scant attention" to the territory that is "more sparsely populated and more heavily Republican than other parts of Iowa," the Register notes.

While the implication may be that it's a brave new world for Democratic candidates, there's still no denying that the Democrats are not going to win in western Iowa come Election Day 2004. George Bush will.

The fact is, Democratic presidential candidates have campaigned all across Iowa every caucus season to one extent or another. As in years past, this year's field, Howard Dean excluded, just isn't creating many sparks. And the big question with Dean is not if but when he burns out.

In the meantime, the rest of the lackluster field will have to go out and try to win the caucuses the old-fashioned way -- signing up one activist at a time. To that end, a Democrat in Emmetsburg is just as good as a Democrat in Des Moines. Each one of those candidates probably came up with that "original" idea at the same time, which would explain why they all sound alike.