To people like me, the Iowa caucus is just a ridiculous political circus.
Luckily there’s Christopher C. Hull, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Georgetown University’s Government Department, willing to explain its significance:
Demystifying Iowa:
The old saw in Iowa is “caucus” is an Indian word for gathering together to make a great noise. That may be apocryphal, but the noise Iowa’s caucuses generate is certainly no myth.
Having read the article, I reserve my opinion on the circus.
Eternity Road casts a more positive glance at Iowa
It’s fitting that this unique approach to candidate selection should precede the other states’ primaries. It’s a reminder of why the states are significant even today, after Washington has sucked nearly all their autonomy out of them: they’re supposed to compete with one another, in form and content.
My friends at Heading Right are liveblogging.