Reporter's notebook: Keeping up with Beto O'Rourke over 800 miles and 15 stops during his first swing through Iowa.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty ImagesGet breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa — Beto O'Rourke is running and so am I. Literally.
It's how Beto O'Rourke runs. And for O'Rourke, the way he runs may be just as important as what he's running for. No notes. No security. No barricades. No stages. No crowd control. No giant American flag backdrops. Just the candidate, a few aides, the minivan and their Facebook page to announce events.
Iowans could talk to him. They could take a picture with him. They could touch him. They could, as one man whispered to a friend, even begin to smell him by the end of the day. "He might be the real deal — I think that's the question, right?" Talley said after an interview with O'Rourke."I mean, he lost the Senate race, not a whole lot of resume, what has he really accomplished? But he might might be the real deal. He might be this generational talent that can really inspire the country in a special way. We'll see.
The Obama comparison is about the generational and political celebrity appeal, which can turn otherwise hard-headed Democrats a bit mushy.
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