Just after 10:00am this morning in Clive, IA, Mayor Guiliani made one of his final appearances before the caucus. His two best lines spoke to two of the three legs of the conservative base - defense and fiscal.
"I think we should stay on offense against terror that has waged war on us."
"This is a low ceiling. I don't like low ceilings. I want a high ceiling or even better no ceiling for my country's economy."
"They're all promising to raise taxes," he said. "I believe that's a promise they'll keep."
This was my first candidate event since arriving in Iowa. I was impressed by the Iowans who attended as their interest and knowledge of politics both at home and nationally was extensive. The lady pictured with Rudy sat next to me for a while and was as informed on the up to the minute status of the race as I was. These Iowans are also caucus vets. They knew the best seats and had no problem telling newcomers to get out of their way. It almost came to blows between the red head and the brunette at the bottom of the photo. Not really division in the ranks so much as wanting to see their faces on TV or in the paper. I guess it is their state right to do so.
Speaking of Forest Gump moments, take a look at the guy in the top right corner in the picture above from the New York Times caucus blog. Look familiar. I am sure their will be video as most of the CNN reporting staff was there (more on that soon).
The first question asked by a reporter as Rudy finished and started headed out was "Rudy, why are you leaving Iowa so soon?" I expect that was the biggest news out of this event. Rudy stills hopes for a Huckabee win to keep everything in the air till Florida.
It is also interesting to note the difference in organization with Rudy's campaign versus my experience at Huck's HQ yesterday. Probably 100 plus people crowded into a small room with overflow areas and hordes of press and it went off without a hitch. A young, blonde and in charge lady ran the event with precision. Pretty impressive what a little cash can buy you.
Updates: Chuck Todd bloggs about the event.
2 comments:
Awesome! I love the insight from the ground. I just saw Campaign Carl Cameron reporting live from Indianola..I think Giuliani and Huckabee were both making stops there today. Keep the updates rolling...
i saw huckabee on cspan today...he did great...beth and i run to our computers every few hours to look for updates.
dude you were on donahue and now you are in the new york times....you are truly my hero
Post a Comment