The Iowa Caucuses: First Tests of Presidential Aspiration, 1972–2008

Smaller in population than several U.S. cities, the state of Iowa has become an unexpected and unparalleled proving ground for would-be presidential candidates. The Iowa caucuses provide a unique brand of retail politics, on the decline in an age of multi-million dollar advertising blitzes. Potential candidates have gone to extraordinary lengths to impress Iowa’s voters, dying their hair, changing their wardrobes, posing—and giving speech after speech. This book chronicles the most important events of each Iowa caucus since 1972 and reveals how the unassuming Midwestern state came to be an unlikely powerhouse in presidential politics.