Iowa Caucus results show Democracy in action

by Keith Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, January 11, 2008

Last week’s Iowa caucus marked the formal beginning of the 2008 presidential election season. Amid a considerable amount of media fanfare, Iowans gave the nation its first official reporting of contest results. Perhaps this display of the democratic process should be lauded as an example of the strength of our political process. Certainly, there was ample opportunity for Iowa’s voters to confront the candidates on issues of importance during the lead up to the caucuses. And, if those issues were sufficiently covered by the media, one may have had a better idea where each candidate stood on matters of value. Unfortunately, coverage of this political discussion was all but nonexistent in mainstream. Instead, newspapers and television chose to report the caucus results in the typical horserace context, focusing on the impact to electability, and numbers of dollars spent or ads run by the campaigns.

In past presidential election years, I’ve paid little attention to the Iowa caucus or the early state primaries. I have always preferred to watch the debates in their entirety or listen to a candidate’s own words, instead of trusting the pundits and media sound bytes as speeches or debates are deconstructed or skewed to a certain bias. Likewise, I try to ignore the results of the caucuses and primaries out of concern that they will influence my own voting practices as one candidate or another appears to emerge as the most likely pick of the party. I reject the idea that a vote is wasted on a particular candidate. It paints the process with a futility that, I believe, discourages many voters from even participating.

It is not that I don’t believe in the results of early votes or caucuses as an indicator of public opinion. I think there is a definite value to polling a sample of the citizenry to gauge where national discussion is headed. However, I know that polls can often be misleading in the way they are crafted to lead respondents toward a certain message. This is evident in the way the exit polls of the Iowa caucus were analyzed to present Democratic leader Barack Obama as the candidate of change and Republican winner Mike Huckabee as the darling of the evangelical Christian. These polls may have validity and the numbers of participants in the process tell an optimistic story of Iowans turning out and embracing their democratic responsibility as citizens. It is debatable whether Iowa represents a cross-section of America, but I think there is legitimacy in factoring in the Iowa showing into the primary picture as it develops.

The hyperbole over the Iowa surprises may not be overblown. I think Huckabee’s strong showing despite the millions of dollars by which Mitt Romney outspent his campaign signals a change in the campaign dynamic. The negative tone of Romney’s Iowa ad blitz also seems to have put off participants. One can only hope the public’s distaste for mudslinging will have ripple effects throughout the remainder of the election season. On the Democratic side, the nod to Obama bodes well for the progressive climate that would uphold an African American as a party’s front-runner for the presidency. Senator Obama’s message of change seems to have inspired early voters as well, which indicates a feeling of dissatisfaction with the current direction of the nation’s leadership. Results also show a dramatic disparity between the large turnout of Democratic participants and that of Republican caucus goers.

The fact remains, however, that these sensational stories overshadow issues that matter to Americans. The Iraq war rages on, with daily casualties and no end in sight under foreseeable foreign policy. Unrest in the Middle East is complicated by U.S. military presence in the region, and continued saber rattling foreshadows a war in Iran and increased peril to our nation’s security. At home, gas prices continue to rise, strangling the working class and illustrating our destructive dependency on foreign oil. The wealth gap in America is ever-growing and the nation’s poverty rate is disgraceful in light of the U.S. reputation as the wealthiest nation on the planet, a subject of which only Democrat John Edwards gives more than passing mention. The healthcare crisis, which is undeniable nationwide, receives little play in the mainstream media amid the clatter over who’s ahead and who has fallen behind.

As the primary season goes forward, we should applaud the democratic process. We should shine a light on Iowa and New Hampshire and encourage our fellow citizens to take part in democracy. That said, we must not lose sight of the problems we face as a nation. We must focus on the solutions proffered by our prospective leaders. We must hold each candidate responsible to his or her promises, and next January we must hold the next president’s feet to the fire in order to preserve the integrity of our republic.