August 10, 2007 1:38 PM
Hope for those now swimming upstream
At the Iowa State Fair, there's a display that every second-tier presidential contender should visit just for symbolism's sake.
View image
Photos by M.E. Sprengelmeyer
Granted, the candidates might not want to compare themselves to slimy, smelly, cold-blooded creatures, but still...
Can't you imagine the photo ops as all the candidates make their pilgrimages to the fairgrounds midway over the next week?
Saturday is the day that many of the lesser-known, second-tier Republican candidates hope to fatten up their chances at the Iowa GOP's non-binding but closely-watched straw poll in Ames.
Going into the event, some of the talk among Iowa pundits has been about Colorado's long-shot entrant in the race, Rep. Tom Tancredo, whose trademarked issue, opposing illegal immigration, is a very, very hot topic in Iowa communities that have been undergoing demographic shifts in recent years.
Still, he gets pegged as a one-trick pony by some political analysts and average voters. He has less money than some of the better-known contenders. Meanwhile, it's unclear whether his recent television ads can offset the negative publicity from his controversial remarks threatening Islamic holy sites as what he calls a deterrent to terrorism.
Over at ColoradoPols.com, they're asking folks to predict how many of the expected 30,000 or more straw poll votes on Saturday will go to Tancredo.
As of this afternoon, the average guess was 2,826 votes -- less than half of the goal posted on the wall of Tancredo's Council Bluffs, Iowa, office (6,000).
The high guess: 8,829. The low: just 1 vote. Someone else guessed 666, and another smart alec said 1,492.
The median guess might warm Tancredo's heart: 2,008.
Then again, 2,008 votes still might keep him in the "small fry" category.
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P.S. And speaking of fish...
August 10, 2007
8:51 PM
M.E. writes:
Vegetarian, sorry.
August 10, 2007
5:20 PM
DSS writes:
ME. Have you had a pork chop on a stick yet? Or a deep fried Oreo or Twinkie? Please have a pork tenderloin sandwich for me. Be sure you see the biggest live pork tenderloin at the Fair. He will be at the west end of the piggie (Swine) building which is south of the Horse Pavilion. He has more pork than Alaska and West Virginia combined.
Have fun in Ames tomorrow. A word of advice is in order, however, Do not wear the colors of the Colorado Buffaloes. That means in Ames do not wear the black and gold of the U of I unless you have a football helmet on. Wear cardinal colors.
Try and obtain Laura Ingraham's autograph. If you tell her you have obtained an Iowa library card by living there for the whole campaign, she'll put you on her show Monday.
P.S. A little more advice. Stay away from the pickles on a stick. If you are going to make that scene, you should have covered the Democrats' shindig last evening.