Inside the precincts of the Iowa caucuses
Iowans defending their place at the front of presidential nominating cycle like to say that the state’s relatively low population and intimate voting process let voters talk to candidates and each other face-to-face, resulting in a thorough vetting of the hopefuls and issues that the rest of the country benefits from. Whether you agree with that or not, the caucuses, which involve speechifying on behalf of candidates, and, on the Democratic side, cajoling to woo or hold onto supporters, are a spectacle unlike most of us are accustomed to seeing on Election Day.