Iowa's JJ Dinner

I didn't go out to Iowa for the Jefferson Jackson Dinner on Saturday night, one of the most important Democratic cattle calls in the run up to the Iowa Cacuses. I did catch C-SPAN and thought they were all lacking. Edwards seemed unctuous. Biden's constant mention of "Ladies and Gentlemen" was irritating. Richardson seemed to be winging it. Hillary was boastful, bragging about her years of experience. (My spouse works for Clinton.) And I thought Obama's constant sniping at her was over the top. They're all serious candidates but I found it, rhetorically at least, to be among their weaker moments. Maybe the massive venue with thousands in attendence led them all to more red-meat lines but I thought it was an oddly unimpressive night for all of them. Iowa Kingmaker David Yepsen, the columnist for the Des Moines Register, thought Obama gave an "excellent" speech and maybe I would have felt that way if I'd been in the hall. But from where I sat the address filled with none-too-subtle jabs at Hillary for "triangulating" and "not answering questions" seemed overblown at times. After not laying a glove on her for a long time, has he gone too far? I suspect all of those anti-Hillary arguments tested well with focus groups. But when issued in a fusillade, the famously nice Iowa voters may find it to be too much. My old boss, Charlie Peters, of The Washington Monthly once said that "the stiletto is best administered in an embrace" by which he meant that you, the author of an article, should conceed all of the other side's good qualities before ripping them on what you think they've done wrong. It's a good technique for authors and politicians.