By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

The kook or the codger?

Rep. Ed Fallon is not your typical politician. He’s goofy, a little off center, you might say. We’ve even referred to him as a bit of a kook. But along the way, he has gathered a political following here in the metro. Fallon claims to represent the underdog, the underprivileged, the under achiever. He lives what he preaches, and, to many, he is what a Democrat should be. Fallon has a magnet-like message that will attract voters in urban areas. But he is missing an important element… money. Even so, don’t rule him out.

The lack of funding didn’t stop Fallon in 1992 when he won a seat in the Iowa House of Representatives despite being outspent nearly 2 to 1 by his opponent. He earned 67 percent of the vote and served in the House until his unsuccessful, untimely and unfortunate bid for governor in 2006. Fallon failed to make the top two in statewide voting, but did win the important Third Congressional District. Now he’s back for another fight with what could prove to be his biggest challenge yet.

U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell is an old codger, a long-time Democrat who doesn’t think there’s much difference between him and Rep. Fallon, other than that money thing. Boswell has plenty of it, nearly $1 million raised so far. He has promoted himself aggressively, albeit many times at taxpayer expense. As a Vietnam vet, a farmer, a state representative and a six-term U.S. congressman, Boswell reached out to many in Democratic circles. He can appear confident, sometimes even arrogant. His time may be up.

A debate between these two politicians would be educational, entertaining, enlightening…. and impossible. Despite Fallon’s efforts, Boswell has made it clear that a one-on-one is not in the works. And it won’t ever be, which may prove to be a smart move by Boswell. Meanwhile, we feel you should know what makes these men tick. Reporter Jason Hancock provides insight into the minds of each of the candidates in this week’s cover story, sharing their similarities, their differences and what we can expect as the campaign progresses.

Thanks for reading. CV

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