Slate: The Difference Between Obama and Hillary in Iowa.

Innocence vs. ExperienceThe difference between watching Obama and Clinton in Iowa.
By John Dickerson
Posted Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007, at 12:19 PM ET

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa— I've seen Barack Obama's show. I've seen the crowds. I've seen the audacity. I've seen the hope. I knew what to expect Tuesday night at his event at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, and yet after it was over I was still impressed. He was funny and passionate, and he connected with his big audience. When he left the stage, the room was on its feet and chanting with him. Nothing like that happened during the two days I followed Hillary Clinton. Her performances were solid and her audiences were enthusiastic, but they didn't interrupt her with applause the way they did with Obama.

A talented candidate works with the rhythm of an audience, taking it through a range of emotions—humor, passion, and anger. If the candidate does it right, the room feels more committed at the end of the event than during the opening jokes. That's what it was like when Obama spoke.

"Why isn't he killing her?" asked a colleague after Obama's hour-long visit. It's the persistent question for his campaign. He wows the crowds but lags in the polls everywhere but Iowa. One answer may lie in a question an Obama supporter asked the crowd before the senator arrived. Warming up the room, Linda Langston, a local politician, asked how many of the people there had never attended a caucus. It seemed like nearly half the room raised their hands. At the Clinton events, where the average age is at least 10 years older, every person I interviewed afterward offered a list of the candidates they'd supported in the caucuses during previous elections. This is the big question for the Obama campaign, which needs to do well in Iowa to survive: Can he lock in voters after they leave his rallies?

* snip *

After Obama spoke Wednesday morning in Bettendorf on the eastern edge of Iowa, Pam Schroder nodded with approval. A longtime secretary at the education agency where he delivered a policy speech on helping the middle class, she liked what she heard. She hasn't decided whom to vote for yet, but she's narrowed it down to Clinton and Obama. "I'm leaning toward Barack," she said, explaining that she wanted to hear Clinton in person, too, before finally making up her mind. She's taking the process very seriously. Though she's voted in several elections, she's never participated in a caucus. If Obama wins in Iowa, it will be because he was able to capture people just like Schroder.

more at http://www.slate.com/id/2177639/