I suppose it was a combination of my own dumb luck and others’ busy schedules that had Justine Stevenson with the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association contacting me to see if I would be interested in participating in a rural town hall meeting with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.  I had just broke down my recently repaired tile machine half way up a pastured hillside.  20 acres of late oats needed mowed to boot.  Still, I said yes.  Someday the phone won’t ring, but I’ll taste every grape on the vine I get offered until then.

The meeting was to be held at the Stine Barn in West Des Moines.  I had never been.  It’s quite a place in the middle of town, and I was in awe as I parked my car on the grass ridge above it.  A man in a golf cart was right behind me, waiting to give me a ride back down.

“A healthy young man like you I ought to let walk,” he smiled.  He knew how to bullshit.  We would get along fine.

“What’s your name?” I asked extending my hand.

“Johnny Rodgers”

“I’m Dan Hanrahan.  Beautiful day isn’t it?”

“It better be for a Husker to be in Iowa.”

“I went to Iowa and Iowa State, so I got you covered either way,” I laughed.

“We tied Iowa State in my last season.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say you played for the Huskers?”

“Yea.  I played for them.  I was also the first one of them to win the Heisman Trophy.”  With that he raised his right hand, and it was then I noticed the ring.

“So what are you doing in Iowa?” I asked.

“I’m working with RFD-TV now.”  With that Nebraska’s Player of the Century dropped me off, but not before I shook his hand again and shared one more smile.

RFD-TV and Mediacom were sponsoring the day’s town hall.  It was to be the first of ten or so, featuring many of the Democratic and the Republican candidates for President.  It is hoped this series will bring light to the issues rural America is facing concerning agriculture and beyond, not only for the candidates themselves but also for our urban counterparts.

Several groups were invited to participate in the meeting and submit questions to the candidate.  The Des Moines Register was there, there was a group representing rural hospitals, youth from FFA and 4H, Farm Bureau, the Soybean Association, the Pork Producers, the Corn Growers, and the Renewable Fuels Association to name a few.

The town hall was to be an hour long, and we were seated somewhat in order of the questions we would ask.  Most of the seats were taken, when I looked up to see Craig Hill with the Iowa Farm Bureau beside me.  I suggested to him that perhaps one of us would get to sit on the horse over in the corner.

Craig smiled as large as Johnny Rodgers had.  “That would be quite a seat.”

The horse, Trigger, had belonged to a different Rodgers.  That one was Roy.   In front of Trigger was none other than Roy’s dog, Bullet.  It wouldn’t have surprised me to find Roy himself behind a door somewhere.

After instruction on how to ask our question, we remained silently seated while we waited for the Governor to show up.  While I waited I wondered how much of rural America would really be represented here.  How long would it take for this candidate to seek cover by wrapping himself in the flag or wandering off into the topics of Iraq, Iran, John McCain, or all our gods?

Beside me was a reporter from the Des Moines Register.  She’d been covering the Jindal campaign, and she was to ask a question the paper had submitted.  The paper had several people present in the small, invited audience, and I would guess it was a member of the Register Editorial Board that came over to visit with her as we sat.

“Do you think I can modify this question?” the reporter asked.

“No.  Ask it as it is written.  There is supposed to be a follow-up which will hit on the other topic we are interested in.”

As I wondered if even the audience would play ball, Jindal stepped in.  He’s short, skinny as a rail, and didn’t even have time to say ‘Hello,’ before the crew started the whole thing rolling.  There he stood, patient as Job, at the back of a room of strangers, waiting for the cue to hop on stage.

The audience stuck to their questions, and Jindal stuck to the topics they asked, never veering from them.  I’d only seen a few television ads of his and was surprised in the soft way he spoke.  He had an engaging sense of humor and used it to discuss the items in both a length and depth that left me impressed with his substance.  He gave some answers that might be a tough sell in Iowa, but it is my view that as the first one out of the gate, he set the bar high.

Substance, I should think, could be an appealing alternative when the feeling good of ‘hope’ or the faded feeling of fear leaves one busted flat (in Baton Rouge or elsewhere).  Still, perhaps substance is overrated anymore.  The hides of Trigger and Bullet are sure to get air time during the broadcast at 9 central Thursday evening.  I bet you don’t see Johnny Rodgers once.

For what it is worth, Jindal might be in this race for awhile.  (Edit:  He wasn’t.)