The signs above are Burma Shave signs. The background is here, but in short there used to be a shaving cream company called Burma Shave who would put up a row signs in the road that would spell out a slogan. An example of what it looks like is below.
The campaign plans to put these all over the state, preferably along highways and frequently traveled roads, but in truth it's wherever we can get supporters.
Of course, the trick is someone has to make them. Which is where we come in. Last week, I spent a good portion of it painting the signs (mostly the base - little artistic ability needed) and then drilling holes in the signs. We also had to load a ton (literally - 2,000 pounds) of rebar into trucks which are the poles we use to place the Burma Shave signs. Did I mention how rusty they were?
We spent one of the days walking around the Latino business district in East Des Moines putting up signs and handing out literature to local merchants. I was the grunt labor for this venture because Joan and Juan are the Latino outreach people for the campaign, and they both speak ridiculously good Spanish. The place in the upper right is a dessert place/hair salon (I kid you not) and the place on the lower left is an awesome, awesome Taco truck. The place on the lower right is a wall of fortunes from a Chinese place called Mr. Eggroll. As people know, I am not picky about food, but this place is BAD!
These are some pictures from our press room. Yes, there is pride taken in the number of articles placed by the campaign. The picture on the right is the Senator on the Daily Show. This type of format is his forte, as opposed to debates, because he can finish a thought that doesn't require it being a soundbite. You can see his performance here.
Each star on the map above represents someone who came to work on the Iowa campaign. One of the cool things about this campaign is not only the breadth of people from the states, but also from all over the world. Last count we had a Brit, an Aussie, a Swede, an Italian, a Ghanan, an Ethernopian (see South Park), and a Frenchie. Apparently we are also getting another Brit, a Kiwi, another Aussie, and a Nederlander. Can someone say "places to crash while traveling?"
My friend Greg took these photos while the Senator was visiting the Iowa State Fair with his family. I like the one on the left because the expression is priceless, and I like the one on the right because he is riding on one of those drop towers with his whole family.
Today was the Swede's (okay, his name is Markus) last day, so we took a group photo. I've gotten to know these peeps pretty well, so I feel I now I have my crew. They are, from left to right, Matt (the Spartan in the field), Meredith (the Texan who does press), Rance (the Kansan and Stanford Cardinal who does African-American outreach), Caitlin (New Media), Patrick (Iowa native and Marquette Golden Eagle), the Swede, Noah (St. Louis Cardinal who channels California as he does Faith outreach), Giulia (the Italian who lives in Russia and speaks English like a Brit - advance work - she also is fluent in Italian, French, and Russian), Erica (fellow lawyer who is a Hawkeye and does Rural outreach), Clarissa (Buckeye who does Faith outreach), and my myself.
In honor of Markus's last day, Erica got him a remote control Dale Earnhardt Nascar. Much merriment was had, as it is had everyday on the Obama campaign.
UPDATE: A shout-out to Stephanie Geis. She e-mail yelled at me for making fun of NASCAR, but you will be happy to know that Markus's car is a big hit back in the Sweden and that his cat in particular likes it very much.
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