Here are two photos from an Obama rally I attended last night at my old high school in Des Moines. I'd put the number of attendees at a few hundred. This is the first time I’ve heard Obama speak in person and let me say — I was not impressed. The crowd didn’t seem impressed either. The Illinois senator was hoarse from long days of campaigning and his talk about hope, change and special interests sounded too forced and familiar. Still, I imagine this 10 p.m. rally was not typical Obama flavor. 
The only real significance of the rally was the amount of 20-somethings in the crowd. Obama is the leader in polls here, but only based on a projected 60 percent of Iowans who will caucus for the first time. If these young Democrats decide to go out for a few beers instead of caucusing, Obama may not do well.
Speaking of caucuses, I’m on my way now to one. Despite living here for the 2000 and 2004 elections, I’ve never attended one.
I’m actually excited.
I'm attending a Democratic caucus and not because I'm partisan. Democratic caucus are so much more fun than Republican caucuses. Today, Republicans will simply gather in a high school gym and vote privately. But for Democrats, it's a little more complicated.
First, attendees find their candidate's crowd and stand with them. Then the precinct captain counts the number of people in that group. Candidates with less than 15 percent support aren't considered viable, so their supporters disband. Then the other candidates' groups will try to get those disbanded to join their teams. This is where grand promises are made. Afterwards, supporters are counted again and a complicated formula decides the number of delegates.
But the most fun is the part where supporters cajole each other into joining their candidate's group.
Last night, over a pitcher bought for my friends by an Obama supporter, a female friend of mine told me caucus goers enjoy making huge promises during the caucus. In 2004, she was supporting Kucinich, but their group didn’t have enough people. So, one of the Kucinich supporters offered to mow an Edwards supporter’s lawn for a month to get her to switch.
It worked.
This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2008.