Seven Weeks Away
For those of you counting, the Iowa first-in-the-nation presidential precinct caucuses will be held seven weeks from today, on Monday, January 15, 2024.
In between then and now, we’ll also have Christmas, New Year’s Day, and the start of the Iowa legislative session. So to say it’s shaping up to be a busy couple of months is an understatement.
As the presidential field narrows due to low poll numbers and money drying up, there will be the normal increased pressure among those who remain. That has already led to sharper words, stronger allegations, and multiple staff changes and campaign reboots.
There’s a temptation to tune out, especially if you are not a Republican or Democrat and won’t be participating in the partisan caucus events. After all, we have enough noise this time of year.
But this is exactly the time to plug in and pay even closer attention. If for no other reason, that’s because whoever the next president will be will immediately be tested with things we cannot even conceive of today. Seeing how they respond under this level of pressure and deadlines may be a good clue as to how they would react in the Oval Office.
A potentially growing war in the Middle East after a terror attack on Israel was not on too many people’s minds prior to October 7, and it has since dramatically changed the agenda and conversation. Not many saw a once-in-a-century global pandemic being a major force in the 2020 election, but it was.
So this final stretch playing out right in front of us in Iowa every day is a unique opportunity to see what these folks are made of, and how they respond…because that’s the type of mindset and leadership they’ll bring to good times and bad as president. That’s reason enough to pay attention and be involved…mind-numbing though it may be at times. We have this unique front row seat to history, and it’s our responsibility to live up to it.
