I was at the book signing so I didn’t get to post the big news that Hillary Clinton will be on the Iron Range this Tuesday campaigning for Barack Obama (and Al Franken). We’re still waiting on some of the details, including the location. We’re told it’s between Hibbing and Virginia. The issue is probably the campaign’s estimate of how many people might turn out. A larger crowd would necessitate the Hibbing Memorial Building, while a smaller crowd would fit snugly in the Miner’s Memorial Building in Virgina. Both are big venues and look great for old school political rallies. All that’s missing is the blue haze of cigar smoke in the rafters.
Like many Democrats I had personally hoped we’d get Barack Obama or Joe Biden up here, but I also know that this is actually good news. I write in my book a story about Michael Dukakis’s visit to the Range in 1988 after he won the nomination. That visit was ultimately bad news; it was needed to keep Minnesota blue while everything else went red. The Obama-Biden campaign is comfortable enough to compete on offense with the top of the ticket while letting high profile surrogates defend the margins in DFL strongholds like the Iron Range. And Hillary is a perfect choice. Though Obama carried Minnesota by wide margins in the caucuses, Hillary carried the cities of Hibbing and Chisholm (the core of the Iron Range) by equally wide margins. The Clintons are very popular here and she can reassure those who might be affected by the attacks on Obama.
I’ll be at the event in some capacity and will write about my impressions. Stay tuned.
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