Hillary Clinton in Iowa (Andrea Bernstein/WNYC)

NEW YORK, NY November 07, 2007 —Most New Yorkers are watching the presidential election from the nosebleed seats or like most sports fans on TV. But in Iowa, fans get to sit court side as WNYC's Andrea Bernstein found out.

Slideshow: Campaigning in Iowa

REPORTER: If you’re following the Presidential campaign on television, this is what it sounds like:

George Stephanopoulos: Hillary Clinton had her toughest night of the campaign this week. Brit Hume: In you decide ‘08 how badly did Hillary Clinton stumble in this debate?

REPORTER: But if you were an Iowa voter, this is what it would sound like.

Voter 1: Don’t back down from these guys ganging up on you, stay strong.

Hillary: Thank you for saying that I appreciate it

REPORTER: How DO Iowans feel about that drivers license fracas? I’ll get to that in a minute.

In Iowa, Presidential politics is personal.

Man: Have you ever heard of Hunter Lovins, ma’am, she works for --

Clinton: I sure do, Amery Lovins ex-wife

Voter 2: Absolutely, that would be a great resource for the coming years.

Clinton: I’m so glad you mention that, I’ve know Amery and Hunter for years

REPORTER: At least 8 presidential candidates have touched down in Iowa this week. That’s because Iowa voters want to meet every one of them in person. At the Tipton public library on Friday Linda Carillo invited the audience to a spaghetti dinner, then introduced Bill Richardson Richardson was prepared for the grilling

Richardson; I learned that Iowa can't be bought, in Iowa, you scrutinize candidates you demand to see us seven times before you decide,

REPORTER: That’s right. Iowans want to hear it all, unmediated. A few days after I saw Linda Carillo in Tipton, I ran into her again, an hour and a half’s drive away, in Williamsburg, where John Edwards was speaking

Carillo: Oh hey saw you Friday, Richardson, that's right, how are you? Let run until next actuality

REPORTER: Iowans filled a high school auditorium on a Friday night to see Bill Richardson. And they start young.

Malloy Children: Madeline, Hannah, Meredith, Emma,

Michelle Malloy: What’s your name? Jacob

REPORTER: Michelle Malloy brought her five children, and wait an hour and a half, with no complaining, to see John Edwards on a Sunday night. In Iowa, for a certain group of people, voting is a social event. There’s no poll to go to. You spend these weeks going to see candidates. And on January 3, you go to a caucus. Clinton staffer Bonnie Eggers was busily explaining how to vote at a caucus to a couple going in to hear Hillary Clinton.

Eggers: You have to check in between 6:30 and 7, it usually takes about an hour, unless your neighbors have a lot to talk about, but it is fun.

REPORTER: The couple wasn’t ready to commit. But they didn’t want to miss Hillary Clinton. The same for was retired schoolteacher Harriet Lenarz.

Lenarz: I’m not sure what I want to do yet, I’m trying to get as much information as I can

REPORTER: Lenarz said she’s undecided, but had settled on three candidates.

Lenarz: Hillary, John Edwards, and I want to hear um, one more, who was that?

Friend: Richardson

Lenarz: Richards

Bernstein: What issues are important to you?

Lenarz: Our image around the world is really important to me, the war in Iraq, and the health system,

REPORTER: Lenarz takes a folding chair in a large meeting hall, the kind Clinton is filling throughout Iowa. There’s a stage, with bleachers behind it, so no matter which angle you’re looking at the stage, you see people. And behind that there’s a big sign that says “Ready to Lead! Ready for Change!” And then, the meeting starts.

Sue: So I ask all of you to join me in giving a warm Oskaloosa welcome to the next president of the United States, Hillary Clinton, cheers

REPORTER: As at most Hillary Clinton events, the cheers have a distinctly soprano tone.

Clinton: Thank you so much thank you.

REPORTER: For the next hour and a half, Clinton takes questions about everything from the war in Iraq to the falling dollar, from the price of health care to the price of gas.

Man: And I hear this in the morning when I go to get gas in my truck to go to school, to teach school, what’s hurting us, can’t the president in the u.s. the most powerful person in the free world, do something about these gasoline prices.

Clinton. That’s exactly what I’m go to be addressing, you know, oil is now more than 90 dollars a barrel, the oil companies have been making the largest profits in the history of the world, best I can tell, and we still take your tax dollars to subsidize them. Does that make any sense to you? Not to me.

REPORTER: And then Clinton outlines her plan to combat global warming. By the time it’s all over, Harriet Lenarz, the retired school teacher, has been won over.

Lenarz: Right now I just feel really up about Hillary and I feel like she’s a very smart woman who can relate to people maybe who are not as smart as she is.

REPORTER: That does seem to be true. Over in Des Moines later that same day, Danny Homan, the state President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees – AFSME -- threw his support to Clinton as green-shirted union members clutched barbeque pork chops.

Homan: She is the embodiment of hard work, strength and pre- perseverance, they gotta quit using these big words, wooo, Gebson said a big word about me I had to call and see what it meant.. In short, we will be, in short, oh man, been a long week, in short she will be the next president of the United States.

REPORTER: The interesting thing about Clinton in Iowa is that she seems to have cut down her negatives even among people who aren’t supporting her. Michelle Malloy is the pediatric nurse practitioner who brought her five kids to see John Edwards. She loves what she sees as Edwards’ honesty and anti-corporate bent.

Malloy: I like Hillary too, my only concern about Hillary, it’s two fold, yes she’s been there before and sees how things work, but that might be one of the things that I don’t like as well.

REPORTER: But…

Malloy: I’d love to see them on the ticket together, hands down, I wouldn’t have to think twice

REPORTER: Now, about that immigrant drivers’ license issue.

Clinton: And sign up to be there at the caucuses January 3. Thank you all and God bless you.

REPORTER: Clinton was leaving an event at her Des Moines Headquarters when a woman yelled from the crowd that she appreciated Clinton’s saying that licensing illegal immigrants made sense. I’ve been hit by an illegal immigrant, and I’m still paying, the woman said. Then another woman chimed in, me too. Clinton returned to the microphone

Clinton: the federal government has failed, the federal government has failed and states are trying to figure out what to do but two people right in this room have been hit by people who are here as undocumented

Man in crowd: more than two

Clinton: More than two, more people, so at some point we got to solve this problem, because we’re seeing all sorts of consequences, okay see you all later.

REPORTER: Okay, that was from Clinton supporters. But over in Cedar Rapids, energy investor Bruce Lacy was choosing between Richards and Edwards. But he also came to Clinton’s defense.

Lacey: I think that was totally unfair I think she in her comments was representing how complex an issue was, and people were attacking her for not turning it into a black and white and I frankly object to that.

REPORTER: That is not to say that Clinton doesn’t have problems in Iowa. She’s ahead in the polls, but not by much. Lots of Iowans, like nurse Michelle Malloy, would prefer a fresh face. Plenty worry she’s too close to corporations. The electability issue hasn’t entirely been put to rest. But Clinton’s trying to persuade every caucus-goer, if she has to shake the hand of every Iowan to do it.

Clinton: I got to go to Indianola everybody, thank you thank you all

For WNYC, I’m Andrea Bernstein.