Is McCain Taking Iowa Seriously?

John McCain named his Iowa State Director last week and one of the leading journalists in the state, O Kay Henderson, had to use Google to find out information about him.

This release today from the McCain camp's Dave Roederer, the chairman of McCain's Iowa campaign through the Caucuses:

Dear Fellow Iowan,

It has been, and will continue to be, an honor to serve as Chairman of Senator McCain's Iowa campaign. Iowa is going to be a key battleground state and I look forward to helping Senator McCain bring his message of government reform, lower taxes, and American security to all Iowans. Our organization in this state continues to grow and I am pleased to announce that Charlie Liebschutz has joined the team as the campaign's Iowa State Director. Charlie and I will be working closely to expand our grassroots effort, which will be so critical in helping all Iowans to understand the substantive differences that exist between John McCain and Barack Obama.

If you have not already become involved in our grassroots organization, I ask you to sign-up to help organize your county or precinct. In the coming weeks and months, staff and volunteers will be canvassing the state to bring Senator McCain's message directly to the people of Iowa. I hope you will join this effort.

Guessing, based on the results of a Google search, that Liebschutz is a 2006 graduate of Colgate and has been on the road with the McCain campaign for months. No biographical information in the email Roederer sent to supporters, just what you read above.

Compare this to Obama's Iowa State Director, Jackie Norris, who has a long list of Iowa ties.

Norris, a long time Democratic operative, served as political director on Vice President Al Gore’s 1999-2000 Iowa caucus campaign and as finance director of Tom Vilsack's 1998 campaign for Governor. Norris worked in Washington D.C. for seven years on Capitol Hill, in the White House as a scheduler for Vice President Gore, and at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Norris teaches high school American Government and History and is married to John Norris, Chair of the Iowa Utilities Board.

I say advantage Obama.