Former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. paid a visit to Council Bluffs on Tuesday. I’ve been following politics since I was a freshman in high school, and the Clintons have always been at the forefront, so seeing Mrs. Clinton up this close was daunting to say the least. The crowd, though respectable in size, seemed smaller than the one Bernie Sanders drew a few weeks ago. Both had sycophantic hipsters in attendance, but I also recognized a couple people who were regulars at republican events. There was also a notice that said I might get my picture taken for use in Hillary’s campaign ads — so keep an eye out for that.
As for Mrs. Clinton herself, she arrived forty minutes late and then covered most of the same liberal talking points that Bernie Sanders had gone over. One difference was that she didn’t condemn any of the “big banks,” preferring to blame Republicans exclusively for the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
She did spend some time greeting attendees from behind the security barrier after her speech. Anyone who wanted a selfie with her had to let the First Lady personally hold the cell phone camera and take the photo herself. She didn’t do autographs, either. Instead, her staff collected items people wanted signed with “no promises” as to what would happen to them. I had a mission of my own, however — to hand Mrs. Clinton a copy of An Insider’s Look at the War on Women, written by my boss at the Pope Paul VI Institute. I’ve been trying to give a free copy to every other candidate running for president, and I’ve never had a problem before. This time, though, Hillary’s handlers physically pushed the book away when I got within reach.
So for the record, I now have only two candidates left on my list: John Kasich (who I plan to see Sunday) and Jeb Bush. We have about three weeks left until the Caucus. That’s more than enough time, I’m sure.
