1. Sarah Palin at the Iowa State Fair:
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin visited the Iowa State Fair yesterday. She had crowds following her as she saw the sights. I ran into her later in the day, as she was there all day since she did an interview for Hannity later that evening. She had also said to numerous reporters (and supporters) that she hasnāt decided yet. Robin Abcarian of the L.A. Times told me last night that Palin had said she would make her decision soon to be fair to her supporters.
But she was with Becky Beach, a prominent fundraiser in Iowa. A good connection for her to make if a presidential run is in her future. but I wanted to link to an article that Scott Conroy of Real Clear Politics wrote yesterday about her visit which demonstrates sheās considering strategy for a potential run. Conroy wrote:
One of Palinās most reflective answers of the day — and one that seemed especially revealing of her current thinking — came when RCP asked her what kind of campaign she would run. Her response is reprinted in full below:
āEach campaign that Iāve ever run in these 20 years of elected office have been kind of unconventional — right, Todd? Weāve always been outspent two to one, 10 to one, five to one; never won any polls heading into election night but usually won the election. So it would be unconventional and very grass-roots. Very grass-roots. And I wouldnāt be out there looking for hires out of that political bubble that seem to result in the same old ideas, the same old talking points, the things that Americans get so sick and tired of hearing and kind of suffering through.
āYou know, we want new. We want new energy. We want conviction and passion and candidness — even if through that candidness you make mistakes and you say things like āthe executive power in Texas is different than the executive power in Alaska.ā . . . Iām just saying that candidness, not fearing so much what the interpretation is going to be when it comes to the comments and positions youāre articulating but just speaking from the heart and saying, āHereās where I think America needs to head, and hereās how I think we can turn the economy around, and hereās what Iāve done in the past to show you truly a foundation of where my beliefs come from of what works in a small town, in a state, in a big industry like oil and gas — what is it that can be done to turn things around.ā Iāll express that and not fearing what the ramifications of the expressions would be.ā
2. Ames Straw Poll Wild Card ā Rick Santorum:
I ran into former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum at the Iowa State Fair. Heās visited 67 counties, and (when he was actually asked questions) performed well in Thursdayās debate. Below is a video of my brief conservation with him.
Santorum also gave a marriage speech in Cedar Rapids at a Values Bus Tour stop. He certainly social conservative appeal as well.
It will be interesting to see what kind of support that he will have.
3. The mark of the beast?
A hair-thin electronic patch that adheres to the skin like a temporary tattoo could transform medical sensing, computer gaming and even spy operations, according to a US study published Thursday.
The micro-electronics technology, called an epidermal electronic system (EES), was developed by an international team of researchers from the United States, China and Singapore, and is described in the journal Science.
"It’s a technology that blurs the distinction between electronics and biology," said co-author John Rogers, a professor in materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"Our goal was to develop an electronic technology that could integrate with the skin in a way that is mechanically and physiologically invisible to the user."
The patch could be used instead of bulky electrodes to monitor brain, heart and muscle tissue activity and when placed on the throat it allowed users to operate a voice-activated video game with better than 90 percent accuracy.
4. Bachmannās Bad experience at the fair.
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann had a large crowd assembled to hear her soapbox speech at the Iowa State Fair. Some were there waiting for over 1/2 hour. She came late and only spoke for 2-1/2 minutes irritating more than a few of the people there, and left after being heckled by a homosexual teen.
One thing that she must get a handle on with this campaign is this constant tardiness, it makes her campaign look chaotic and itās frankly unprofessional and disrespectful to those who support her.
5. Rick Perry overshadow the Ames Straw Poll?
A good question. No. I would suspect we have more people and media here in Ames than he has there, and he is by no means a shoo-in.
Michele Bachmann Photo By Dave Davidson
