Thursday, August 11, 2011

August 11, 2011


    Iowa, where they'll have the first real presidential action with those caucuses early next year, is having a straw poll this weekend.  Candidates and reporters are sure to be watching.
 
     The poll may answer some questions about the 2012 race.
 
     Why, for instance, do stories always describe former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as the front-runner?  In front of what?  Nobody's run anywhere real yet.  This column has always thought to paraphrase Gertrude Stein when it comes to Romney:  there's not much there there.   Nice hair but no there. 
 
     Or, is Michelle Bachman a contender or is she too conservative to actually be
elected?   She's pretty far right, but so is much of the GOP these days.  Can a woman win? Hillary Clinton didn't four years ago.  But could Bachman?  Sarah Palin?
 
 .   Is Rick Perry real?  Is he running?  Sure sounds as if he is.
 
     When I was still covering politics, I always liked going to Iowa.  Good, thoughtful people those Iowans seemed to me -- voters who really cared about politics.   I'm sure that's still true.
 
     So come on, Hawkeye State, give us a hint or two.   Please, Iowa, we could sure use a couple.     

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