But that all changed when she flew to Des Moines to visit her son and his wife. Without knowing what had hit her, she found herself cheering at a rally for Democratic candidate and former Sen. John Edwards while holding an “Edwards For President” sign above her head.

She had been introduced to the wonders of Iowa caucus politics. At nearly any time of the day, people can choose from almost a dozen candidates to chat with, grill, probe, applaud and assess.

While there certainly is heavy TV advertising and an abundance of phone calls based on computer-generated microtargeting, what matters most here is personal contact between would-be voters and would-be presidents. It's taken for granted by most Iowans but can bedazzle visitors.

“You personally look at the candidate and get a feel for the personality of somebody who might be president,” Nicholson said. “It was just fun, to be honest. I got caught up in it. I had a big sign, and my son was joking with me that his crazy mother was holding up a sign.”

Indeed, Iowa is the only state whose voters can get so close to the full field of contenders. Similar retail-style politics will still be practiced next week in New Hampshire, but some candidates may drop out before that state's first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 8.

The uniqueness is such that it has even spawned a new breed of visitor – the political tourist. In Council Bluffs, rallies are peppered with residents of Nebraska who crossed the border to meet candidates. In Davenport, Illinois license plates fill the parking lots outside rallies. Minnesotans are in abundance, including one family of 10 that has made the caucuses their vacation for the year.

“I'm a political tourist,” said Jonathan Earle, interim director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. Earle was at a rally for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in Traer on Sunday. He had driven more than four hours to attend two Clinton events and one for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

“This is such a rare opportunity to meet the person that may be the next president of the United States,” Earle said as he tried to find another candidate to see before returning to Kansas.

There are plenty of opportunities.

In the past year, presidential candidates from both parties made 453 visits to the state. Edwards of North Carolina leads the Democratic pack with 47 separate visits, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney tops the Republicans with 42 visits.

The contrast with San Diego County is instructive. The state of Iowa and San Diego County have roughly the same population – the county has 2.94 million people and Iowa has 2.98 million, according to 2006 Census figures.

But San Diego County received only about a dozen candidate visits that were public, some of them barely. Most were quick trips to raise funds or hold news conferences. The county had one Iowa-style retail event where a voter could bump into a candidate. That came in March when Republican contender and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani shook hands at Point Loma Seafoods.

The contrast annoys the critics who say a larger, more diverse state should be the first to vote.

“It's just ludicrous,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political scientist at the University of Southern California.

Jeffe said the situation has improved only slightly since California moved its primary to Feb. 5. “Before, a candidate would slink in, rob the ATM and slink out again and nobody would know it,” she said. “Now, most of them schedule at least one public event.”

Iowans are very aware of the criticism that they are too few and too white to be given the honor of going first. In their determination to keep that status, they work hard to take the responsibility seriously and inform themselves about the candidates and the issues.

“We really want to prove to the nation that we deserve this,” said Lu Karr, 50, a community volunteer in Vinton who supports Clinton.

“To be first in the nation and to have everybody looking at us is really something,” Karr said. “Many times, people look at us and think we're really a bunch of hicks who live in the middle of the country and that my backyard is a cornfield or a pig field.”

She has driven to see several Democrats. But she can't match Kathy Krafka, a farmer and cattle rancher from Montezuma on a mission to see all of the Republicans. Early last week, Krafka drove an hour to Des Moines to meet Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Later in the week, she met Romney in Oscaloosa and then back to Montezuma, where she patiently ignored the frigid weather so she could greet former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee when he stepped off his bus.

Krafka even organized a family caucus over Christmas dinner, ending up with a three-way tie among Thompson, McCain and Romney.

There is a downside to the attention – the constant phone calls from the campaigns, the daily mail, the nonstop e-mails and a candidate's entourage blowing into a hole-in-the-wall diner.

“It's been horrendous, just horrendous,” said Patty Guzman, 52, a Republican who runs the Sunnyside Tavern in Traer. “It never stops.”

Clinton supporter Tony Renzo, 45, of Traer said he finally found one way to avoid the ads. “ESPN doesn't do politics,” he said, “so I watch sports.”