It would have been hard to find a much
better way to conclude the Presidential Campaign Tour.
Over the last few months, I have taken
advantage of living close to Iowa to go see candidates during the
Countdown to Caucus. Before last weekend, I had already seen six of
the candidates – Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Carly
Fiorina, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee. I added four more
candidates over the weekend and also took the opportunity to see
three that I had seen before.
After getting off work early on Friday
afternoon, I went to Bev's On the River in Sioux City to see Florida
Gov. Jeb Bush. While I thought that Gov. Bush would have benefited
from being a little more informal, he did have some good things to
say – in fact, he reminded me a lot of his dad, former President
George H.W. Bush. He was joined by two of his three children, Jeb Jr.
and Noelle, and I also got to shake hands and exchange introductions
with Jeb Jr.
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| Me and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley in Sioux City |
After departing Bev's, I drove downtown
to the headquarters of former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. While
the event was listed as a phone bank for volunteers to stir up
support, I was surprised to see several attendees at Bev's join me at
O'Malley headquarters. Gov. O'Malley touted his record of passing
progressive legislation as Maryland governor, including abolishing
the death penalty and legalizing same-sex marriage, and he also spoke
about his plan to make the nation's electric grid fully green in the
next 35 years (by 2050).
While at O'Malley headquarters, I also
got the chance to make a new friend or two and even had a chance to
chat with a lady who works at Sioux City Planned Parenthood. My
conversation with her was quite interesting, but productive.
Saturday began with a midday trip to
the Holiday Inn of Sioux City to see Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and I
have to say he was an impressive speaker. He was more libertarian
than I expected – he advocates auditing the Pentagon for one –
but did a good job of making his points. I've often said that I could
see the GOP going in a more libertarian direction in the future, and
hearing Sen. Paul did nothing to dissuade me from that.
After leaving the Holiday Inn, I headed
to the small town (population 2,142) of Ida Grove to catch Texas Sen.
Ted Cruz one more time. I had heard Sen. Cruz twice in October just
as his campaign was starting to gain momentum and I wanted to see
what he was like three months later. As I was three months earlier in
Atlantic and
Council Bluffs, I was impressed in Ida Grove. Sen. Cruz
is a dynamic speaker and also knows how to make fun of himself and I
found him very likable. While I may not like all of his positions, I
do like Sen. Cruz.
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| Me and Sen. Ted Cruz in Ida Grove |
In addition to making another new
friend or two in Ida Grove, I also got the chance to meet a TV crew
from Austria and to meet Fox News contributor Byron York – and give
him my extra copy of the Ted Cruz coloring book, autographed by Sen.
Cruz himself.
I concluded Saturday back in Sioux City
with another visit to former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. During
the Presidential Campaign Tour, Sen. Santorum has impressed me with
his authenticity and his knowledge of foreign policy. He did so once
again Saturday night. If he does not win the presidency, I am of the
opinion that Sen. Santorum would make a great Secretary of State in a
Republican administration.
The final day of the Presidential
Campaign Tour began at Morningside College in Sioux City with another
chance to see New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who hosted a
town hall
at the school. Gov. Christie once again was impressive, displaying a
solid conservatism while also showing that he could work with
Democrats to end gridlock and perhaps detoxify the climate in
Washington, just like another former governor did as president –
Ronald Reagan.
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| Me and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in Sioux City |
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After leaving Morningside, I drove
across Iowa to Marshalltown to catch Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
While I did not get the chance to personally meet the senator, I did
get to meet his daughters, grab a pair of T-shirts for my mom and
sister (who are both strong Bernie fans) and also ran into an old
high school friend that grew up three miles from where I live, no
less.
Wow! It's hard to believe the
Presidential Campaign Tour is over. It was one amazing ride – I got
to see 10 presidential candidates, but more importantly, I got to see
what most of them were like in person and to gain a perspective of
them I would have never gained just by watching the news or campaign
ads. Do I want to do it again? Absolutely!
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