Des Moines -- "So what do bedbug bites look like?" OffTheBus asked Joe Biden's Iowa political director, Danny O'Brien.
"They're really big and round and itch like crazy," said O'Brien, as we polished off a glass of red wine in downtown Des Moines late last night.
O'Brien and two other campaign staffers were stricken with bedbug bites while taking up residence in a cheap hotel outside Des Moines, in the northwestern suburb of Urbandale, during the final days before the Iowa caucuses.
"Actually, it's more of a weekly or monthly sort of place rather than a real hotel," explained O'Brien.
O'Brien and the other two other staffers, both women, bought some medication and are more comfortable. They also purchased their own sheets, pillows, and blankets.
Another Biden staffer I met on Friday night told me that his toilet had overflowed while he was in Cedar Rapids training caucus volunteers.
When he arrived back in Des Moines after the nearly three-hour drive - exhausted and with fewer bucks in his pocket because he had to pay for the beer and pizza for his volunteers and staff (the Biden campaign doesn't have the money for such luxuries) - he was forced to move his luggage from one room to another. But then the key broke on his new room and he wasn't sure how he was going to get in his room after dinner.
These are just a few of the hurdles and hardships the Biden staff wrestle with as they work day and night for their cash-strapped candidate, who has found a loyal group of Hawkeye supporters hell-bent on getting their candidate a top ticket out of the Iowa caucuses, only three days away.
O'Brien is Biden's former chief-of-staff in Washington, D.C., and architect of the ground game for his boss in Iowa. Their $8-million campaign is straining under the demands of building a solid organization to support Biden's recent surge in the polls.
Although Biden has proven experience as a foreign policy expert and consistently gained traction since the fall, his campaign continues to be hamstrung by a lack of money, paid professional staff, and organizing muscle to make him a real contender.
Bedbug bites, overflowing toilets, relying too heavily on volunteers, and worrying about every dollar could all add up to a promising candidate getting culled from the field on caucus night because he didn't start raising money early enough in this highly competitive race.
Still, the scrappy Delaware Senator and his cadre of Iowa supporters could play a big role in the final outcome of the caucuses.
Biden supporters, along with the other second-tier candidates, may well determine who moves onto the New Hampshire primary with a big bounce or a big mountain to climb after Iowans cast the first presidential preference vote in the country.