Iowa Governor Blasts Romney

[Owlet]

""Iowans don't like being ignored, they don't like being ignored!" said Branstad. "Romney has been here a few times. I think he's missing an opportunity to be here this weekend and also to spend more time campaigning in Iowa."

Politico

Really, Governor? I have nothing against Iowa or Iowans, but, c'mon, no one pays a whole lot of attention to the place except for those wacky caucuses you folks have every four years. Then, according to you, Iowans acquire some sort of mystical (no doubt God-given) power to determine the Fate of the Nation. You govern a state of three million people. That represents, what, about 0.8% of the US population?

Sorry, but I just think this whole kowtowing to Iowa is way overblown. I don't agree with Romney on anything else - wait, that's not right: I like his taste in flannel shirts - but I think he's right in keeping Iowa in perspective.

[CoffeeCat]

1. I'm from Iowa...

...and I will tell you this. The caucuses and all of the campaigning that precedes those
caucuses--is real, down-to-earth politics. We get to meet the candidates in person, actually
talk with them and have real discussions. Iowans are not shy about holding these candidates
accountable and demanding answers from them.

We may take the caucuses too seriously--but you should be glad that we do.

We DEMAND that we see the whites of their eyes and that they drop the bullshit rhetoric
and slogans--and actually talk with us. Small-venue speeches and town-hall style discussions
are always happening and they are the norm.

Relying on hollow political ads and soundbyte-riddled debates is no way to chose our nation's
leaders. Think of Iowa as a prolonged job interview.

We expect that candidates will be here, and that they will attend those small events and travel
all over the state answering our difficult questions and having a dialog with us. That's how
we determine the candidate for whom we will caucus.

I love living in Iowa because I get to see REAL democracy in action every few years. We may
not have mountains or an ocean--and we may only be home to 3 million people--as you said.

However--we get to participate in democracy--in a very real and meaningful way. There are many
candidates who have skipped Iowa--and you could tell--it was because they were bullshit artists
and they knew that they couldn't handle being real and talking with educated people and dropping
the soundbytes.

Hillary Clinton came in third in the Iowa caucuses--because she rolled in here with her corporate
campaign machine and she wasn't real. She didn't take the time for Q&As and she mainly gave
speeches to large audiences and relied on impersonal ads and gimmicks. We rejected that. Guiliani
passed on Iowa, because he's a charlatan and he knew he couldn't handle the rigor of having real
discussions with people who wouldn't let him get away with nonsense.

Iowa is a great test for the candidates. Maybe you should come here--take advantage of the
access we have to these politicians and ask them some tough questions. We would love it. Remember,
the cameras are always rolling at these events!

[HereSince1628]

2. Strike 'time' and you get ..."spend more campaigning in Iowa"

I suspect there is that, and also you really can't judge candidates until you've seen their pancake flipping technique.