The Nation - Democrats court Iowa, row by row - Local political players are at the center of the presidential contenders' universe. And that's not a bad place to be.

On the receiving end of this star treatment was not some big-ticket donor, Washington strategist or Hollywood celebrity. The men and woman who would be president were in pursuit of a soft-spoken retiree who likes to crochet and who had spent most of her life teaching English to junior high school students.

Jean Pardee, 61, is a dogged, self-made political player, whose years of volunteerism have elevated her to Democratic Party chairwoman of Clinton County and the 1st Congressional District and member of the party's State Central Committee.

Every four years in this state of 3 million, old-school activists like Pardee spring to the center of the political universe. These stalwarts may go unrecognized outside their home precincts, but presidential contenders bank on them to deliver support in a state where politics is intensely personal.

"The fact is, in Clinton County, they have been listening to Jean Pardee for years. Not just since the Democratic picnic last week but since Dukakis rolled through in 1988, and before," said Mike Malaise, the political director who helped Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry win the caucuses in 2004. "Caucus-goers in Iowa are used to listening to these local people."

The caucuses, currently scheduled for Jan. 14, remain the first major test of the contenders, despite the crowd of other states pushing their contests up the calendar to increase their clout in the presidential nomination races. (The Iowa straw poll of Republican candidates, an early benchmark in the race, will be Saturday.)

The state's enduring influence is seen in the many days -- 291 as of Aug. 1 -- that the top dozen candidates have visited this year. New Hampshire, long the kickoff primary state, falls a fairly distant second. The top candidates had spent only about half that amount of time -- 156 days -- in the Granite State as of Tuesday.

The Internet age may have spawned YouTube debates and e-mail fundraising, but Democrats and Republicans recognize that in Iowa, you must show up in person to win.