to the presidential campaign this go-around. I have watched many of the debates and read quite a bit, but the urgency has not hit me as yet. The past two campaign cylcles I was working in Des Moines and the campaign was all around me. Principal Financial, being the biggest private sector employer in the state, had forums for every viable candidate and I went to most, giving me an opportunity to see and hear them up close, and even though they stuck to their talking points, it still gave one insight that is hard to get on television. For example, I was very impressed with Huckabee when he appeared in person, when I had previously thought little of him as a candidate. Walking the skywalk system downtown I often ran into people like Tim Russert, George Stephanopoulis, David Gregory, Joe Scarborough, Chris Wallace among others, which means little, but kind of adds to the excitement of the event. If you have ever lived in a state with a meaningful primary (missouri's has never been meaningful) or especially an early primary like iowa or new hampshire, there is an excitement that you just don't feel elsewhere.