All that was missing was Richard Wagner on the soundtrack when the caravan of 18-wheelers came rumbling through the parking lot at the Best Western just off the highway here one brisk night late last week.
Through the narrow driveway they rolled -- one, then two, then another and another -- all emblazoned with the logos from local councils of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Finally, with air horns blaring and rock music pounding and dozens of beefy men in satin union jackets chanting, Rep. Dick Gephardt and Teamsters President James P. Hoffa emerged from the cab of the seventh semi, stepping down from a door so high it seemed as if they were descending from the clouds.
It was a fusion of muscle and metal and testosterone that had less in common with the average political event than with the great scene in "Apocalypse Now," when the attack helicopters roar into battle to the strains of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries." It was literally breathtaking.
Few other moments in this year's Iowa caucuses have been quite so exhilarating. But this has proven an extremely engaging struggle that has transcended the inherent flaws of the caucus process itself.
The Democratic contenders have picked up their game. On display last week in Iowa have been candidates at the top of their form, with the intermittent exception of Howard Dean, who at times has seemed to buckle under the pressure of his disappearing lead. Yet even Dean continues to demonstrate the ability to inspire a passionate following -- as have Gephardt and, increasingly, Sens. John F. Kerry and John Edwards.
Each of the major contenders has found a distinctive message and appeal that separates them from the others; it is as if they are running down lanes that only rarely intersect.
Though Dean in the final days has sometimes sought to strike a more positive tone, he is still mostly offering his combustible mixture of empowerment and revenge. He tells voters that they are joining not just a campaign but a cause, an argument so resonant with so many Democrats that Kerry and Edwards have copied it almost verbatim.
But Dean still draws most of his energy from his attacks on President Bush and the "Washington Democrats" he accuses of bowing to him. Listening to Dean rouse a crowd against the Democratic leadership, it's easy to imagine what the Visigoths sounded like when they exhorted their hordes to sack Rome: He promises the satisfaction of retribution.
