Gross questions reporter about campaign, Vilsack asks about others

Radio Iowa news director O.Kay Henderson recently traveled with democrat Governor Tom Vilsack and Republican rival Doug Gross, and in this installment of her series of reports, she’ll share part of her conversations with the two men, and let you draw your own conclusion.I’ve been covering Iowa politics for 18 years, so I’ve watched, listened and interviewed both men countless times. But the simple act of following someone for a day, riding in a car with ’em or walking with ’em for eight miles alters the exchange. My day with Doug Gross started at 7 a.m., and as a campaign staffer drove her car, Gross sat in the passenger seat and turned to look at me in the back as he peppered me with questions about his race against Vilsack. What were my observations? Who did I think would win? What is Tom Vilsack like? And Gross shared his own thoughts on all those subjects. By comparison, I spent two-and-a-half hours walking eight miles with Vilsack, and he never once asked me what I thought about his race, and Vilsack never mentioned his opponent’s name. But Vilsack did quiz me about my thoughts on other races, and offered his own observations of Congressional races as well as the U-S Senate race.