July 17, 2007 8:29 PM
The invisible front-runner
LISTEN HERE to Rudy's new Iowa strategy.
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The national Republican front-runner, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, is going to try a new strategy to gain traction in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa.
He's going to show his face.
At the moment, he trails former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Iowa polls, thanks in part to Romney's television advertising bombardment and frequent visits to the Hawkeye State.
By contrast, Giuliani has made only one quick, in-and-out visit to Des Moines recently, and he's fighting a perception that he has conceded the traditional kick-off state -- ever since he, and later Sen. John McCain of Arizona, announced they would not compete in the non-binding Ames Straw Poll on August 11.
But while Romney is away on Wednesday (stumping in the conservative stronghold of El Paso County, Colorado) Giuliani is launching his first full-fledged, full-state barnstorming across Iowa on Wednesday and Thursday.
He's hitting some critical, conservative bastions -- Council Bluffs, Sloan, Le Mars and Sioux City -- and then heading east toward Fairbank, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Davenport.
We're ignoring a lit "check engine" light to provide bumper-to-bumper, chase-crew coverage. So watch this space at "Back Roads to the White House." And then, check out RockyMountainNews.com on Thursday to compare and contrast it with Romney's Colorado appearance.
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POST SCRIPT: With apologies to Roger Miller fans, check out the special version of his famous hit recorded especially for another Iowa "King of the Road" this week, Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado. LISTEN HERE.
Oh, and we're sure you've already seen this. But it's worth repeating so you can try to spot the cameo appearance by a Rep. Dennis Kucinich fan.
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