Arrival in Iowa

I made the 300 mile drive from Indianapolis to the Quad Cities with just one stop this morning, and arrived around noon. My first taste of the Iowa caucuses was an event featuring Governor Romney at Bettendorf Middle School. I shook his hand and thanked him for running for President. He responded graciously. As a dedicated runner, I observed and must post that I was impressed with how physically fit he was. He sure doesn't look 60 years old, and may have been the fittest person in the room.

There were perhaps 100 of us crammed into the library. I was surprised at the small percentage that I estimated to be likely caucus-goers, particularly undecided caucus-goers. Over half of those in attendance were members of the media, students, and campaign staff/volunteers. The three likely caucus-goers that I visited with all had already made up their mind to support another candidate (McCain and Biden).

Governor Romney used his time to thank Iowans for all of their hospitality over the last year that he has traveled the state. He reinforced that he believes his strong appeal in places like Iowa, NH, Michigan, and S. Carolina positions him well to win both the party nomination and the general election. He highlighted Mr. McCain's two votes against the Bush tax cuts. Most of the press questions were about Mr. McCain, though one reporter inquired about Mr. Huckabee's decision to spend caucus eve crossing the picket line on The Tonight Show.

I captured some great photos of the event, but did not bring the necessary equipment to upload on location. I will have to add my photos when I return to Indianapolis on Friday. I will not attempt to trump Jonathan's superb on-site reporting.

When I returned to my car parked at the middle school, someone (presumably a McCain supporter), had printed today's Manchester Union Leader attack on Mitt Romney and placed it under my windshield wiper. The Union Leader takes their McCain endorsement seriously, and wants others to do the same. I am not aware of any newspaper ever taking such an active role to support a candidate.

In addition to Governor Romney's appearance this morning, Hillary Clinton, Fred Thompson, and John McCain all have events scheduled this afternoon and this evening in Scott County. I am headed to the Romney HQ right now, but may look to attend the McCain event for a few minutes tonight for Justin.

28 hours to caucus...