Clinton's fourth-generation Iowan

Posted by Mark Silva at 4:35 pm CST

While Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton conducts her online “conversation’’ – a “chat,’’ as she calls it – about her exploratory campaign for president, the New York Democrat is dispatching political operatives to the front-line of the 2008 campaign in wintry Iowa.

Clinton has hired JoDee Winterhof, an Iowa veteran of caucus-organizing and the staff of Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, to serve as director of her Iowa campaign. And Clinton will head to Iowa this weekend for some more conversations on the ground in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport.

Winterhof lays claim to being a fourth-generation Iowan. She grew up in Walnut.

But she is among the first generation of Internet-grounded activists who have mobilized Democrats nationally for such efforts as America Coming Together, the 2004-vintage political committee that raised millions of dollars for a drive to register more Democrats and turn them out to the polls with a door-to-door canvassing blitz. (She was ACT’s first political director.)

That blitz, as it turns out, was outblitzed by the precinct captains of the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign, the Amway of all political operations. But losing is no badge of dishonor among political operatives.

Winterhof also has served on Harkin’s presidential and senatorial camapigns and served as his chief of staff from 1999-2003.

“I am joining this effort because we need a new direction and new leadership in this country,’’ she said in a statement released by the Clinton “exploratory’’ campaign. “Hillary Clinton has the experience and vision to lead this country from the moment she steps into office.’’

Winterhof says Clinton is looking forward to “many conversations with Iowans over the coming months.’’ These start Saturday in Des Moines, with a “town-hall’’ styled meeting at a community center, and a “house-party’’ styled meeting in Cedar Rapids. (These are basically code-words for different kinds of sets for the same thing, a place for a lot of television cameras and reporters to observe conversations with real Iowans.)

On Sunday, it’s the Hickory Garden Family Restaurant, for a “restaurant-style’’ conversation, in Davenport. That's tight-quarters, room for a print "pool" reporter only. A "pool-style'' event.

And finally that day, Clinton plans to meet the press at the Central High School library in Davenport. That will be a “front-running-Democratic-candidate-confronts-reporters-style’’ event.