A Few Speed Bumps in Iowa
ON IOWA'S INTERSTATE 80 -- It's been a heck of a day and I haven't even heard a single word of Edwards's stump.
After a commercial flight carrying me and my fellow off-air reporters was diverted from Omaha to Des Moines due to low visibility, the Edwards press team sprang into action and scrambled to get a press van from the airport to the next possible event we could attend four hours away in Le Mars, IA.
So we're travelling on I-80 West on our way to the Ice Cream Capital of the World, when the blue lights showed in the rearview mirror.
Our van driver, whose name I will refrain from using out of sheer sympathy (poor guy was answering phones back at the campaign HQ just a couple hours ago, and now he's being pulled over in a van full of angry, cynical reporters), calmly pulled to the side, and waited for the officer from the Iowa State Patrol to approach.
We were clocked doing 84 in a 70.
Uh oh.
Note to others: saying you're a van full of media doesn't help things along.
"Oh, so there's a whole lot of trouble going on in this van," said the trooper, a wry smile crossing his face.
But overall, the officer seemed like a good guy. For a while it felt like he'd give us a break. "That's OK," he said, "I'll go easy on you."
That depends on your definition of "easy." The officer (whose name is completely illegible in the citation, but his initials are K.V.) cut the citation down from 84 to 76 - and a $102.80 fine.
So much for the holiday spirit in Iowa, huh?
Lucky for our van driver, he knows a pretty darn good trial lawyer to help him fight this if he wants...