Want to see a panorama of our city park? It was full of people listening to some guy named Obama!
Last edited Tue Aug 14, 2012, 10:48 AM - Edit history (1)
Kind of hard to see him. The podium is near that orange scissor lift on the right.
Here's a transcript of his speech: http://www.ketv.com/news/politics/Transcript-Remarks-by-President-Obama-in-Council-Bluffs/-/9674400/16093402/-/3gslpk/-/index.htm
Edited to add a couple more shots:
= new reply since forum marked as read
Polls keep going up and down. The key is getting a good Dem turnout. It's going to be a fight at the state level too.
Our Repuke Secy of State is using the voter fraud BS to try and suppress votes. 
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1051473
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1051464
The first voter suppression rule allows Schultz to purge Iowa’s voter registration list by comparing with it unspecified federal and state agency lists. Schultz has not specified which lists he is using. “The public has no way to be sure he’s using accurate, up-to-date information to remove voters from Iowa’s voter lists,” said ACLU of Iowa Executive Director Ben Stone. “The potential for erroneous information is huge.”
The second voter suppression rule would create a new, unreliable way for people to make voter fraud complaints to the Secretary of State’s office. The new method would skirt Iowa law by removing a requirement that the person swear to the truth of their allegation, with criminal penalties for false reports.
The ACLU and LULAC also assert that under Iowa law, Schultz doesn’t have the legal authority to implement these rules and by doing so, is in violation of the law.
...but Iowans came through for Obama in 08 in spades, and I think they will be back. I was a precinct captain for Obama, and I admit that I have been unhappy about many things. However, I think many previous Obama supporters will be moved to vote for him again, in part, due to the radical Romney/Ryan ticket.
Gay marriage is legal here. We were the first in the nation to vote for Obama during the primary. We have a very large, politically active progressive block. Furthermore, we have a lot of Independents.
I can tell you this, if you aren't authentic and personable in Iowa--you have NO chance. I see Romney making huge mistakes. I like Hillary Clinton. She's doing a fine job as SoS, but she didn't run as personable a campaign as Obama did. Iowans expect to meet the candidates. At the VERY least, they expect that the candidates will attend Iowa events, talk to the people and allow people to converse with them. That's what we're used to because of our "first in the nation" status. I think Obama gets that.
I see Romney making horrendous, terrible mistakes in our state. Last week, Romney said he would not attend the Iowa State Fair. This is a huge event in our capital city. Romney passed it up. I can't remember a Presidential candidate in my lifetime who skipped the Iowa State Fair. However, Romney was in Iowa last week. He met behind close doors at Glenn Oaks Country Club--which is the most exclusive, expensive country club in Iowa. It's definitely a one-percenter hangout. Romney didn't do interviews, he didn't answer questions. He gave a speech and left. He didn't even answer media questions.
Then, he visited an Iowa farmer. Oh this cracks me up! This farmer is a "farmer"--who owns 40+ farms, and he's also a real-estate mogul and a concert promoter. He lives in one of Iowa's most infamous homes--a unique, modern mansion that looks like a spaceship. The house is 15 minutes from our house and this thing is huge and wildly famous. I just laugh at this. Can Romney bother to spend five minutes with regular people?? He has to get the photo op with the "farmer", but he meets with a millionaire mogul who just happens to own an untold number of corporate farms. Everyone in Iowa is laughing. Others may not get the joke and the tea partiers may look the other way--but missing the fair and meeting with the golden farmer doesn't play well with Iowans.
I truly think that Obama will win Iowa. He gets the state. He knows what he has to do to win here, and he's not afraid to go to the Iowa State Fair and talk with people. Romney knows how to meet with millionaires in exclusive settings. He doesn't know how to connect.
I do think the voter fraud is kept to a minimum. We do have a Republican Governor and a Republican SOS. They're trying to require voter IDs, but I think that is on its way to being rejected.
You mentioned the farm bill. I know that Romney is very, very unpopular with many farmers here. As you know, the drought has severely impacted our farmers. 70 percent of the corn crop is destroyed. Many farmers know that they will not make much money this year, but one thing that is saving many of them--is the money/tax breaks they receive from having the large wind turbines on their properties. Romney and Ryan both want to stop those tax breaks. Farmers are incredibly angry about that. Iowa is becoming a state that is focused on alternative energies--due to the wind farms. Many see that RR are just kow towing to the oil industry and that doesn't play well with specific groups here.
All signs point to Iowa going for Obama, in my humble opinion! 
good to hear. Forgot about the wind issue; that makes it better! Looking forward to the voter manipulation thing being shut down.
