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Iowa

Susan J. Demas: What pundits are trying to sell you (and won't tell you) about the Iowa caucuses

The Iowa caucuses were a victory for pundits. But many will continue to mislead about what's really going on this election –– or be oblivious to its realities.

OK, Monday night certainly didn't pan out for those predicting a coronation for our not-so-benevolent wannabe dictator Donald Trump. Iowa voters treated analysts skeptical of the billionaire Republican's true appeal to a healthy heaping of schadenfreude.

But, as usual, the two main storylines emerging from the Hawkeye State (where I lived for 10 years) reflected long-established conventional wisdom. The first is that Marco Rubio really won the GOP contest (not Ted Cruz, the actual winner) by beating expectations by finishing third (and almost defeating Trump). The second is that Hillary Clinton's near-death experience with Bernie Sanders proves she's facing a Herculean task in winning the Democratic nomination.

Throwback Monday: Jumping through hoops for the caucus circus

Ed. Note: This was written before the 2008 Iowa caucuses, so some of it shows its age (although I'm still proud of this observation of Rudy Giuliani: "When Pat Robertson comes out for the thrice-married guy who supports abortion and gay rights, you know there's a full-blown GOP identity crisis.")

Take it from an Iowa girl, or at least one who lived there long enough to know better ... All politics is local in the Hawkeye State and it isn't glamorous.

I've talked to Bill Clinton after he slurped down a milkshake and Dennis Kucinich after he grabbed a veggie burger to go at one of my favorite Iowa City haunts, the Hamburg Inn No. 2. It's a must-stop on the stump where waitresses still invoke the lore of Ronald Reagan (a good tipper) and curse Pat Buchanan (who evidently was not.)