By wplog

Published Friday, Jan. 4, 2008 | 7:10 a.m.

Updated Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 | 2:14 p.m.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- It's 4 a.m. and I'm sitting here at Eastern Iowa Airport waiting on a flight back to Vegas. I can't wait to get back to a place that doesn't dip into the single digits, but I'm still awestruck by my Iowa experience and what happened in this tiny, nearly all-white state last night. For all the flack the state gets for being unrepresentative, Nevadans should take note of one thing: Iowans take their politics seriously. How else do you explain hundreds of people turning out in Cedar Rapids Wednesday in bone-chilling temperatures to see Clinton, Obama and Edwards? Some voters hit all three, just to make up their minds after getting to know them for the better part of a year. That's dedication.

Then there's Adrian Stamper, the one uncommitted voter in a room of 375 caucus goers at the Des Moines high school I visited last night. He parried with precinct captains from nearly every campaign in the meeting, until finally going with Obama at the last minute.

The TSA agents who are coming to work now are dishing about the caucuses. "Hillary won my precinct but she took a hit nationally," one worker just said.

Given Obama's victory, I'm flashing back to a short visit to Iowa City yesterday afternoon. Outside the Mill Restaurant, a popular tavern and music spot where Edwards took a few minutes to thank and boost supporters, I met Allen and Teresa Winder. They both caucused for Edwards in 2004 and were proud to be wearing precinct captain buttons this time around. After complaining about how even the local media had given Edwards short shrift and mocking Clinton's campaign organization in the state, Allen said about Obama: "There's a lot of energy in his campaign. We are hoping for a blizzard tonight."

Why? Well, those young, first-time caucus-goers wouldn't think of leaving the warmth of their homes in those kind of conditions, he said. Last night was clear and temperatures remained in the double digits. But Obama's people might have turned out no matter what.

Obama filled the giant hall in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday with mostly young first-time caucus-goers. He dared them to defy a media that disparaged an organization built on bringing new people into the process. They took him up on it.