They claim to be a state that takes their presidential considerations more seriously than the rest of the country. Iowans may, in fact, be right.

Only in Iowa would one find a young child wearing a "Property of Students for Barack Obama" sweatshirt, sitting in a barn as the temperature dipped into the 30s, patiently waiting through two hours.

Only in Iowa would one expect Terry McAuliffe, a top Clinton adviser, to be hawking his book, "What a Party!: My life among Democrats," at the Des Moines library at 12:30 p.m. on a Friday.

And only in Iowa would a sight like a signed poster from the captain of Air Force One, expressing best wishes to the staff of the Des Moines International Airport Best Western, be completely ordinary.

Tonight, volunteers from the Democratic campaigns will meet outside the site of tomorrow's Jefferson Jackson dinner to hold a rally. The sign wars, one has to believe, will be second to none. We'll try to post pictures here after the event. To paraphrase a well-known showman: Only in Iowa!