This was going to be a post about seeing Ron Paul in person as part of my ongoing attempt to catch all the presidential candidates before the caucuses.

Alas! Though his appearance was billed as public, the security guy controlling entry to the Principal Financial building firmly disagreed.

Back on the sidewalk, my friend and I chose from our remaining options: John Edwards or Hillary Clinton?

"I've seen Edwards enough already," said my friend. So . . . Hillary it was.

We parked in front of the Iowa Historical Museum, sailed inside to find seats near the podium, and within minutes Hillary Clinton was standing ten feet before us.



She didn't give a rousing speech so much as a talk to the group, which was comprised of members of the state, county, and municipal employees union (AFSCME).

Clinton comes with a security detail, owing to her status as former First Lady. I counted six Secret Service agents, as identified by a specific lapel pin, the tell-tale curly ear wire . . .



. . . the boxy, slightly oversized suit jacket, which presumably conceals a host of hardware (can you spot three boxy agents in the photo below? ) . . .



. . . and the Agent 007 wrist watch. I'm sure the watch does all sorts of exciting things.



After speaking, Clinton slowly made her way around the perimeter of the stage to greet people and pose for photos. She grasped my hand and, with a long squeeze and lingering eye contact, said, "Thank you soooooo much for being here today. Thank you sooo much!"

I was impressed that she appeared unrushed, able to visit with each person who wanted to talk to her. I have to admit to being momentarily star struck, but that moment has passed.

I like all the Democrats, but I cannot let go of the fact that while Clinton was soaking up the love in Iowa, my candidate, Senator Chris Dodd, had left his campaign to defend the Fourth Amendment on the floor of the senate, opposing the current iteration of the pending FISA legislation.

From Wired:

"Dodd showed his moxie and determination all day, as he held the floor for long stretches, railing against an administration-backed bill that would have freed telecoms from 40-odd lawsuits pending against them in federal court."

(snip)

"Dodd spent nearly 10 hours on the Senate floor Monday, assaulting the administration's secret warrantless wiretapping program and channeling Senator Frank Church, whose investigation in the 1970s of the nation's intelligence services clandestine led to Congressional limits on government spying."

Here's an astonishing chart:

Senator pushes for telecom immunity after generous political contributions from telecoms.

I guess I'm getting a little political here.