Steak Fry as High School

[illinoisprogressive]

If the Democratic party were a high school, the Harkin Steak Fry is the party's version of Homecoming and the different campaigns are classes warring for the spirit stick. 18,000 Democrats thronged the fields of Indianola, to carry signs, bash the Bush administration and eat some steak (grilled not fried) on a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon.

The campaigns, eager to steal the show, competed to be top dog.

Along Route 92, leading into Indianola, the class seniors, the Clinton campaign showed the newbies how it was done. Clinton volunteers were out in shifts starting at 2 a.m. planting yard sign after yard sign along the rural route. They even stole the thunder from their chief rival, the Obama campaign, by having three huge hand made signs saying, VOTE FOR CHANGE.

snip

Anyone walking into the steak fry was greeted by a column of Hillary Clinton supporters, banging on drums, rattling tambourines and shouting through bull horns. They handed out plastic bullhorns filled with popcorn and bottles of water to cool the weary, as they hiked over the fields to enter the steak fry.

But the made for TV moment was won by the Obama campaign. It wasn't quite the march on Washington, but Barack Obama, leading a column of about a thousand supporters, marched along a dirt road and along the rolling green fields leading into the Steak Fry. He was waving signs, chanting and appearing to present himself as the messiah of "change" and "hope" entering the steak fry with his loyal flock.

The campaign which had created it's own staging area across from the Steak Fry said that they had chosen to make a big entrance simply because they could and this was a sign of the depth and enthusiasm of their grassroots organization. By their numbers, they gave away 2,000 free t-shirts, brough in 15 busloads of Iowans from 10 staging areas across the state, and said that they had 3,000 supporters in total at the event.

Obama who had warmed-up his supporters before he marched over with them to the Steak Fry and sounded like a preacher leading an old fashioned tent revival. He told the crowd not to doubt themselves but intead to "believe in your higher aspirations. Believe in the better angels of your nature.

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2007/09/steak_fry_as_hi.html

[Frances]

1. Obama, Hillary, Edwards

All are great candidates. They make me proud.

[illinoisprogressive]

2. I would have loved to have gone. it seemed such a fun time.

[Lucinda]

4. Me too!

And they all did very well!

[EFerrari]

3. I love Tom Harkin. He made me wish I lived out there.

I didn't even care who did best, the fact that he provided the forum was enough.