Less than three months since the 2006 general election and 50 weeks from the Iowa caucuses, the field of Democratic presidential hopefuls is now up to eight candidates with another three or four looking to possibly toss their hat into the ring. Senator Joe Biden from Delaware announced that he will officially announce his candidacy on Wednesday.
Add in four to six legitimate Republican hopefuls - all of whom haven't entered the race yet - and that's a lot of candidates who will be criss-crossing the state in the next year.
Since Iowa sits as the first presidential challenge in the nation we're already beginning to see the first candidates come to the state to begin stumping for the nomination.
And it's only going to get worse. We're going to see a ton of candidates, be overwhelmed with political ads and unsolicited political phone calls, and we'll be tired of all this by the time July rolls around.
Yesterday, Hillary Clinton was in Davenport for a town hall meeting at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds. Originally, the town hall meeting was to be held at a restaurant near where we used to live in west Davenport called Hickory Grove Family Restaurant - we used to call it the "Old Farts Cafe" because of the amount of old people that would eat at the place. But because of Hillary's "rock star" status among the Democratic candidates, the banquet room at that restaurant wouldn't have been able to handle just the press who was following Hillary's every step in Davenport. So they moved it out to the fairgrounds, also because there's ample parking there.
After attending a church service at our friend's Scott and Marcia Schroeder's church (Scott and Marcia weren't there - they went to the earlier service to avoid the crowd), Hillary went to Davenport Central High School for a news conference at the school's media facility.
Through all of this visit, the City of Davenport is expected to provide peripheral security for Hillary Clinton. And it wouldn't be just for Hillary Clinton, but for every candidate that will come to the city in the next 50 weeks and beyond up to the 2008 election. Davenport - like other cities across Iowa - is expected to pick up the tab for the increased security and police presence during the candidates visit.
The City of Davenport has been contemplating asking candidates to help foot the bill when it comes to providing more security and escorting candidates motorcades through the streets. Actually, I think that's a great idea.
One of the most infamous happenings in the history of Davenport occurred when presidential candidates John Kerry and George W. Bush held political rallies at the same time in the city on August 4, 2004. Even with normal patrols on the street, three banks were robbed during the rallies. All the robbers were eventually caught, but it showed how thinly spread the police officers were and underscored the need for increased patrols during these high profile events - meaning more overtime for the already overworked police force in Davenport.
The aspect of Iowa taxpayers having to foot the bill for security and protection for presidential candidate visits is mind-boggling. But this year with the prospect of upwards of 15 to 16 total candidates in the field, we're going to see our share of candidates in our towns for the next year. That's going to be a lot of money spent on making sure crowds stay in line, escorting motorcades and providing peripheral security in conjunction with the Secret Service.
I'm about as apolitical a person there is when it comes to campaigning and I think the jump the candidates have taken on the 2008 race is just ludicrous. It's less than three months from the time of the last congressional election and I'm still reeling from all the ads and pre-taped phone calls we received for months up to the November election.
I'm sure it's not going to be any different and I - for one - will be more than happy when the Iowa caucuses are done and over with next January. But until then, I guess I just have to grit my teeth and live with it.
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