The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Quite a Difference!’

AMES, Iowa Here at Buffalo Wild Wings near the campus of Iowa State University, the place is packed with media covering the Rick Santorum campaign. I’ll have photos in a few minutes, but first, let me explain that title quote. On Aug. 11, after the debate before the Ames Straw Poll, I came to this […]

Guess Who’s Gonna Be Watching Hawkeye Football Tonight With Rick Santorum?

Well, me, obviously, but also all my friends in Iowa are invited tonight to the Des Moines suburb of Johnston for the party tonight as the Iowa Hawkeyes take on the Oklahoma Sooners:  8:45pm CT: Senator Santorum will host an Insight Bowl Watch Party in Johnston, IA. Location: Okoboji Grille 8481 Birchwood Court Johnston, IA So if any of my […]

IOWA NOTEBOOK: Occupy Caucuses?

Rick Perry speaks at Smokey Row coffee shop Pella, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011 DAVENPORT, Iowa After days of chasing after campaigns, I find myself in the unusual position of waiting for the campaign to come to me. Rick Santorum will be here in Davenport this evening for a 7 p.m. event, and so I’m […]

Phil Klein Endorses Obama

OK, that’s a slight distortion: Why I’d back Obama over Ron Paul What I can’t understand is why Phil felt the need to write a column like that. Nobody who supports Ron Paul is open to persuasion, and Republicans who don’t support Ron Paul are unlikely to undergo a last-minute conversion at this point. (Unless, […]

‘Everyone Sells Out in Iowa’

DAVENPORT, Iowa According to Michele Bachmann, that’s what her former campaign chairman state Sen. Kent Sorenson told her before he switched allegiances to Ron Paul. Ed Morrissey is shocked — shocked! — to discover that Republicans can be bought, but it happens every day. Remember when Tim Pawlenty was supposed to be the “conservative alternative […]

Rick Santorum Gets ‘The Kind of Optics a Cash-Strapped Candidate Can’t Buy’

DAVENPORT, Iowa That’s how Alexander Burns of Politico sums up the elements that compose the last-minute “Santorum Surge” here in Iowa. The question is how high that surge will go, and the situation here in Iowa is so turbulent now that it is impossible for anyone to say. I spent hours driving to Pella yesterday […]

SANTORUM SURGE: Finally, the Polls in Iowa Are Catching Up With … Me

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa I’m inside a town hall meeting with Rick Santorum. About a hundred people here, and the big news today in Iowa is the CNN/Time poll showing Santorum surging into third place, with 16%, ahead of Newt Gingrich, who is now fourth with 14%, followed by Rick Perry (11%) and Michelle Bachmann (9%). […]

Greetings From the Quad City

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Woke up late today — too late for the complimentary breakfast here at the Radisson Quad City Plaza — and thought, “Hey, no need to hurry today.” Monday I flew into Cedar Rapids and had to go halfway across the state to a Rick Santorum event, then back to Iowa City. Then […]

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