This time four years ago I stood in Washington DC’s biggest outdoor and camping supply store waiting to be served, as a succession of young professionals in front of me told the patient and courteous staff that they needed thick boots, thermals and fleeces for their upcoming trip to Iowa. I was in line for exactly the same products to go to the same Midwest state. Talk about feeling like a cliche.
It’s time for the quadrennial migration once more. Like wildebeest waiting to cross the Mara River, so the reporters and film crews, policy wonks and party hacks, diplomats and columnists head west from DC to talk caucuses, ethanol prices and sugar beet. And just how bloody cold it is. My first Iowa caucus was in 2008 and I had to stand outside the state capital in Des Moines in temperatures of -16C waiting to do a live for the news. By the time they cued over to me, I swear my jaw had literally seized up. I could barely speak.
Iowa is famed for serving up surprises – the Texas senator, Ted Cruz, won here in 2016 after performing particularly well at the Bible breakfasts – which are a staple of political campaigning in this Bible-belt state. That turned out to be not such a strong point for Donald Trump who, when asked whether he was an Old or New Testament guy, fumbled and said that he thought they were both great books.
