"We don't ride bicycles in Iowa."

Joe Mitchell: "Thank God you're building the ballroom. Thank God you're getting rid of those awful bike lanes. We don't ride bicycles in Iowa." https://t.co/pMkgvYZhv0

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2026

Is a ballroom more of a motorcycle thing or a bicycle thing? Seems to me motorcycling and bicycling go together more than either fits into the world of ballrooms. 

"Trump files suit against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer and Des Moines Register.... Selzer published a poll days before the election..."

"... that said Kamala Harris was ahead by 3 percentage points. Trump ultimately won the state by 13 percentage points."

NBC News reports.

The suit, filed Monday night in Polk County, Iowa, says it seeks “accountability for brazen election interference” over a Nov. 2 poll that showed Kamala Harris up 3 percentage points in Iowa. Trump ultimately won the state by double digits, a difference that his lawyers argue in the suit constitutes “election-interfering fiction.” The president-elect is making the claim under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, which prohibits deceptive advertising....

Well, it's not just advertising. It covers "advertisement, sale, or lease of consumer merchandise, or the solicitation of contributions for charitable purposes." But still, it's hard to see how that could cover deceptions in the form of political polls — however dishonest — published — however corruptly — in the news portion of a newspaper. I'm not looking at the complaint, however. I understand the outrage, and maybe there oughta be a law, but how can it be the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act? Who was to be bamboozled out of anything? The Trump campaign? (That is: Come waste time and money in Iowa and stay out of those blue-wall states that will actually determine the election.)

Trump's secret: hats... always hats.

I'm reading "Trump invested in a muscular turnout operation, and it paid off" by Michael Gold in the NYT.

Much of the Trump campaign’s focus was on enlisting 'caucus captains,' devoted supporters who agreed to recruit 10 friends and neighbors to caucus for Mr. Trump. To incentivize them, the campaign offered signed hats and chances to meet the former president. The campaign held trainings for caucus captains at its headquarters, where it taught them the ins and outs of caucusing so the captains could pass their knowledge on to new caucusgoers.... At his rallies, caucus captains and volunteers collected information from attendees, and the campaign followed up with emails, phone calls and text messages.... The campaign... deployed educational videos — one with a cartoon blob named Marlon, the other with Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law — that offered step-by-step instructions to first-time caucusgoers.

Hats and simple cartoons — here's that Marlon thing — maybe politics is far simpler than anybody but Trump understands.

ADDED: Political hats are a big topic. There are metaphorical hats — the hat that you throw into the ring, the white hat that designates the hero. And there are literal hats, like the shockingly powerful MAGA hat. And remember pussy hats? To go back in history, there's the liberty cap.

And look, here's a liberty cap, atop the flagpole, in The Great Seal of the State of Iowa:

"On the Ballot in Iowa: Fear. Anxiety. Hopelessness."

A NYT article.

I'm linking if only to marvel at the photograph at the top of the page. The faces! Caption: "Vivek Ramaswamy spoke to voters at a town-hall meeting at Wellman’s Pub and Rooftop in Des Moines. Credit... Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times." 

The  article, by Lisa Lerer, is subtitled, "As Monday’s caucuses approach, voters casually throw around the prospect of World War III and civil unrest, anxious of divisions they fear are tearing the country apart."

Key concept: Anxiety.

Four years ago, voters worried about a spiraling pandemic, economic uncertainty and national protests. Now, in the first presidential election since the siege on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, those anxieties have metastasized into a grimmer, more existential dread about the very foundations of the American experiment....

But isn't it this fearful fragility the real threat to democracy? Why do mainstream media stoke despair and anxiety? Why don't they — why don't we — build our resiliency and optimism?

"Meeting with President Biden for the first time in a year, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, reiterated his determination to unify with Taiwan..."

"... but stopped short of mentioning the potential use of force. He denounced what he called futile American efforts at containing China, but also acknowledged that U.S. tech restrictions had taken a toll. And he broadcast that China had global ambitions for its influence — while also trying to reassure the world that those ambitions did not have to lead to conflict with the United States...."

 From "In Talks With Biden, Xi Seeks to Assure and Assert at the Same Time/China’s depiction of Xi Jinping’s U.S. visit reflected his sometimes-contradictory priorities: to project both strength and a willingness to engage with Washington" (NYT).

"Mr. Xi also struck a softer tone than usual at the banquet dinner with American business leaders.... Mr. Xi spoke about the American pilots known as the Flying Tigers who aided China during World War II against Japan. He hinted at the prospect of China’s sending new pandas to the United States. And he reminisced about the time he lived with an American family in Iowa in 1985 as part of an agricultural exchange...."

"Iowa Democrats will surrender their first-in-the-nation caucuses next year, party officials said Friday..."

"... while Democrats in New Hampshire — still fighting with the Democratic National Committee — moved closer to holding a rogue primary. Iowa’s influential perch within the Democratic Party formally came to an end in a windowless hotel ballroom here, where members of the Democratic National Committee voted to accept Iowa’s plan to release its presidential preference numbers on March 5, Super Tuesday. Iowa officials said they will lobby for an earlier nominating contest in 2028...."

Politico reports.

Hotel ballrooms are always windowless, aren't they? Might as well mention that there were floors and a ceiling, and yet, the word "windowless" made me feel that the scene was terribly dreary. And... in retrospect, everything I've ever experienced in a hotel ballroom feels dreary. 

Why do we accept that these places are called "ballrooms," when "ballroom" — without "hotel" in front of it — calls to mind something like this:

But here's to you, Iowa, for giving up your place in the grand tradition. It was institutionalized racism, and you knew it. Now, back to the farm or whatever it is you do over there. Our years of caring about you (and your damned ethanol) are over... or, oh, no, there are still those miserable Republicans tromping about in that heartland of yours.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire clings to what's left of its once-proud first-in-the-nation tradition, which is so little that to adhere to it is — as Politico has it — to deserve to be called "rogue."

"Over decades of presidential campaigns, the Iowa way has been to hop from town to town, taking questions from all comers and genuflecting to the local culinary traditions."

"Going everywhere and meeting everyone has been the gospel of how to win over voters in the low-turnout midwinter caucuses that kick off the American presidential cycle. Now former President Donald J. Trump is delivering what could be a death blow to the old way.... If any of his dozen challengers hope to stop his march to a third straight nomination, they will almost certainly have to halt, or at least slow, him in Iowa after spending the better part of a year making their case. A commanding victory by Mr. Trump could create a sense of inevitability around his candidacy.... As Mr. Trump and nearly all of his Republican rivals converge in the coming days at the Iowa State Fair, the annual celebration of agriculture and stick-borne fried food will serve as the latest stage for a nationalized campaign in which the former president and his three indictments have left the rest of the field starved for attention. 'You’ve got to do it in Iowa, otherwise it’s gone, it’s all national media,' said Doug Gross, a Republican strategist who was the party’s nominee for governor of the state in 2002. 'The chance to show that he’s vulnerable is gone. You’ve got to do it here, and you’ve got to do it now.'"

From "Racing to Stop Trump, Republicans Descend on the Iowa State Fair/As the state fair and its Republican pageantry begin, Donald Trump’s rivals face a transformed political environment in Iowa, where he holds a comfortable edge in polls despite rarely visiting" (NYT).

That made the three indictments sound like the equivalent of stick-borne fried food — stick-borne fried food that Trump gets to hog while everyone else is "starved." 

The top story in the NYT right now is: "Kamala Harris Takes on a Forceful New Role in the 2024 Campaign."

What has been "forceful" — or "new" — about anything Kamala Harris has done?

I've found 7 delightful/disturbing TikToks for you today. Let me know what worked for you.

1. His wife wants to go out to lunch dressed like that — like Edgar Allan Poe.

2. This man could not be more impressed than by the Thom Brown Pre-Fall 2023 fashion show. He shan't return to regular life after this.

3. An autistic person's insightful tip on how to bond with neurotypical people at work: Just tell them what day of the week it is. They love it. She's right! I hadn't really noticed it before, but it is true. People love to hear what day of the week it is.

4. A baby is truly amazed at the first experience of eyeglasses.

5. Jordan Peterson delivers some very specific advice about how husbands had better treat their wives or else — or else you will become isolated and lonely and if you don't fix it you'll end up divorced and fixing it for the rest of your life.

6. Sinister Pond Babe explores Sac City, Iowa.

7. Speaking of sinister... these birds!

Biden — using his "car guy persona" — drives 118 mph.

Here's a screen grab of my search: 

 

Here's some funny deadpan from the NYT article:

The president has long used his affinity for cars to burnish his workaday origins and, more recently, to conjure an aura of vitality despite being the oldest president in American history. In the run-up to the midterm elections next month — with control of Congress and the future of his agenda at stake — Mr. Biden is hoping his gearhead reputation will appeal to some parts of the Republican base.

IN THE COMMENTS: Meade writes...

Joe Biden is unsafe at any age.

And here in person, Meade nudges me to show you a picture he took of a real-life Corvair (in Decorah, Iowa):

The view from Pikes Peak... Pikes Peak, Iowa.

The day before yesterday, roaming around the Driftless Area, we stopped at Pikes Peak State Park — "a 500-foot (150 m) bluff overlooking the Upper Mississippi River opposite the confluence of the Wisconsin River."

Like the more famous Pikes Peak in Colorado, it is named after Zebulon Pike. 

Here's a slightly more southward view. The bluff on the opposite shore is Wyalusing State Park, where we camped Sunday night:

We hiked on the Bridal Veil Trail...

Pentecopterus decorahensis.

Yesterday, roaming around in the Driftless Area, we spent a few hours in Decorah, Iowa. We loved the little town, home of Luther College, and hiked up to Dunning's Spring: 

 

Somehow, we got to talking about the meteorite — "as big as a city block" — that hit right here 470 million years ago. There's a 4-mile-wide crater underneath Decorah, and "it is filled by an unusual shale that formed after an ancient seaway sluiced into the crater, depositing sediment and an array of bizarre sea creatures that hardened into fossils." The most interesting of these creatures is Pentecopterus decorahensis:

"The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday overruled a 2018 decision that said the right to abortion was protected under the state constitution."

 The Des Moines Register reports. 

The composition of the court has shifted since the 2018 decision, with Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, appointing four of the seven justices....

"Although we overrule (the 2018 decision), and thus reject the proposition that there is a fundamental right to an abortion in Iowa’s Constitution subjecting abortion regulation to strict scrutiny, we do not at this time decide what constitutional standard should replace it," Justice Edward Mansfield wrote in the majority opinion.

Trump rallies in Des Moines.

"As disastrous as the Biden administration has been, no one can blame the great state of Iowa, because boy we did really — we did really good here. Iowa, what a place!"

"Thousands of people are expected to pack the stands at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday. Organizers expect this to be Trump's largest crowd in Iowa yet."

KCCI Des Moines reports. 

That links to a new poll showing that Trump is more popular in Iowa than he's ever been: 

The poll shows a majority of Republicans in Iowa, 91%, view Trump favorably. That’s compared to just 7% who view him unfavorably, and 2% who are not sure. Independents in Iowa are split on Trump, with 48% viewing him favorably, 49% unfavorably and 3% unsure. Democrats in Iowa are united in their view of Trump, with 99% viewing him unfavorably, and just 1% viewing him favorably.

You might think it's ludicrous that there's still anyone who's unsure whether they view Trump favorably or unfavorably, but it makes sense to me. They have mixed feelings! It's a love/hate relationship. And I think if Americans were perfectly honest, we'd all confess to having a love/hate relationship with the guy.

By the way, only 31% of Iowans approve of the job Joe Biden is doing. None of these numbers tells us what people would do if confronted with another election with Biden and Trump going head to head. That's your choice again. How do you like it? Make that a poll question. I bet over 90% would say they don't like it. Give me a better choice!

Anyway, back to that first link. I see that people started lining up on Thursday for that Saturday rally:

Richard Snowden came from Delaware. He is part of a group called the "Front Row Joes." They're the people who consistently wait at his rally sites days in advance. "It's a great way that we can give back to Mr. Trump, show him support, and give him back certain love, because he has, sadly, had so much hate directed towards him," Snowden said. 

They think Trump needs love, and they travel across the country and wait in line for days to bestow this gift of love upon him. If the haters would back off, would the love cool? People are so mean to Trump that it does make some people think you need to go out of your way to counterbalance that hate — including going out of your way from Delaware to Iowa.

"Iowa's decades-long lock on the nominating process has been under threat since last year's disastrous caucus..."

"... when results were delayed for days due in part to a faulty smartphone app that was supposed to make things easier for precinct captains when they reported results. Ultimately, The Associated Press never declared a winner in the contest because of problems with the vote count, which was administered by the Iowa Democratic Party. Iowa's voters are also older, more rural and more white than many other states so it's seen as increasingly out of step with the Democratic mainstream, which increasingly relies on voters of color and young people for its support. President Biden's newly-installed pick to lead the Democratic National Committee, Jaime Harrison of South Carolina, will get a chance to shake up the calendar by appointing members to the party's rules and bylaws committee. Unlike past presidents, Biden didn't win in Iowa (he came in fourth, after former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren) and owes no political debt to the complex caucus process."

From "Democrats Weigh Whether Iowa Should Stay 1st In Line For 2024 Election" (NPR).

1. "The Associated Press never declared a winner in the contest..." — why is it up to the Associated Press?

2. "Iowa's voters are also older, more rural and more white than many other states" — isn't that why Iowa is used as the beginning of the contest? It's not just that Iowa became "increasingly out of step" — the idea all along was to be out of step in precisely that way. But maybe they feel more awkward about it in these days of saying "systemic racism."

3. Biden came in fourth in Iowa. Buttigieg and Sanders were first/second. Interesting how Biden got processed up to the nomination. Too complicated to remember, isn't it? And now Biden is in a position to rejigger the game, so that what didn't work for him won't be the way it's done, going forward. And so the 77-year-old man who by some odd sequence of events ended up President will be able to do something NPR sees as bringing the party up to date. The approach that allowed Pete Buttigieg to vault to the front will, apparently, be characterized as prejudiced and old.

"The Iowa Democratic Party released another batch of caucus results on Wednesday afternoon, covering 75% of Iowa's precincts."

"Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg remained the leader of the race, with 26.9% of state delegates. He's closely trailed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, with 25.2%. They're followed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 18.2%, former Vice President Joe Biden at 15.6% and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar at 12.5%.... 'We took a gut punch in Iowa,' Biden told a crowd Wednesday morning in Somersworth, New Hampshire...."

CNN reports.

"7:40 AM Sen. Durbin says it’s time for Iowa caucuses to end/7:35 AM Howard Dean says Iowa shouldn’t be first caucus anymore..."

I'm reading headlines at the Washington Post.

You see what they are doing? They're blaming Iowa. It's not the fault of the Democratic Party. It's Iowa's fault. After the citizens of Iowa put up with all that interaction with candidates swarming the state for the past year (and more) and after they showed up for this elaborate nighttime gathering in groups in gyms and showing support with their bodies, they are blamed for the screwup of the party!

The other blame-shifting I'm seeing is: The computers did it. There was an app and it somehow caused all the trouble. Reminiscent of Hillary's wipe-it-with-a-cloth computer problems. I really don't want to hear excuses that have to do with computers getting things wrong. This cannot have been a complicated app, and the backup was to use the phones, yet they want to blame the phone lines too! It's just not credible.

AND: There's also room to blame the Clintons: "Tech firm started by Clinton campaign veterans is linked to Iowa caucus reporting debacle" (LA Times):

An app created by a tech firm run by veterans of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign is taking heat for the unprecedented delay in reporting Democratic caucus results from Iowa. The firm behind the app reportedly is Shadow....

“When a light is shining, Shadows are a constant companion,” its website says....

"Poll: Iowa caucuses are 'up for grabs' as Pete Buttigieg surges into top tier."

Headline at USA Today.

It's a new three-way race in Iowa.... The poll, taken Wednesday through Friday, put Biden at 18%, Warren at 17% and Buttigieg at 13% among 500 likely Democratic caucusgoers.... California Sen. Kamala Harris, who was then in second place after a strong showing in the first Democratic debate, has plummeted 13 percentage points and is now in a three-way tie for sixth [at 3%]. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders earned 9% support, the same number as in the June poll.

Fighting for Iowa.

I don't know if you heard, but I'm moving to Iowa!

Thank you, @PolkDems, for putting on a fantastic #SteakFry and giving us the opportunity to bring our campaign directly to Iowans. We're going to win this thing by coming together and fighting for the best of who we are. pic.twitter.com/z6gu9sBe6g

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 21, 2019

ADDED: There's a new Des Moines Register poll, reported here by CNN. Warren now has 22% of the likely Iowa caucusgoers. Biden has 20%.

Sen. Bernie Sanders' support has dipped to 11% in this poll, with South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 9% and Sen. Kamala Harris at 6%. Sens. Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar each land at 3%, while Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, investor Tom Steyer and businessman Andrew Yang each have the backing of 2% of likely caucusgoers. The poll marks Gabbard's third qualifying poll for inclusion in October's Democratic debates. The rest of the field each notched 1% or less....

Harris is exactly where she was in the previous Des Moines Register poll.

For many in the field, a summer spent campaigning in Iowa has done little to improve their chances there. Aside from Warren, no candidate has made meaningful gains in overall support...