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Subscribe to RSSAMES, IA -- Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has spoken at more than 100 events across Iowa in the past several weeks, but the staff here at the charming Cafe Diem this morning still wasn't exactly sure who the jovial, hand-shaking man in the cowboy boots was.
"I think his name is Santor...um?" a barista told an inquiring customer this morning in Ames.
This lack of name recognition and low poll numbers haven't stopped Santorum from barnstorming the Hawkeye State aggressively. In fact, the challenge seems to fuel his fire (with five events scheduled today alone in Iowa). Santorum proudly acknowledged that he is operating a grassroots campaign ahead of the Ames Straw Poll on Saturday.
"It's a straw poll. You don't need a million votes," he told reporters this morning. "You need a few thousand votes, so we'll see how that works. We're not spending any money here. We don't have the ads. We've got a little staff -- my kids, me and that's what we're doing."
Although NBC News has covered Santorum's events for the past ten days straight, the former senator complained that he has only today begun receiving national attention.
"The press is like Wall Street. They only look at what happened last," Santorum told a reporter, citing his Senate defeat in 2006. "You gotta look at the track record of the company, you can't just look at the last earnings report... Some companies have bad earnings reports for lots of reasons that have nothing to do with the internal makeup of the company."
Santorum also slammed President Obama for the current economic climate and last Friday's downgrade. "We are on the brink of a second recession," he exclaimed to voters.
"The person who is responsible for this downgrade is in the White House," said Santorum to applause. "The impact of this could be really epic."
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If all else fails, there's always the 'Santorum Jam' business he can fall back on... lol
It's splendid on toast!
The Santorum Sanitarium might be a good venture also. He could cater to his base.
No kidding -- they can bring their dead babies for a sleepover!
Snore, who?
LOL -- Please, no more Prayer Meetings!
Ah. Santorum's on the case. I feel SO much better.
Maybe he can tell us how to solve the financial crisis ....
.... right after he finally reveals the location of those weapons of mass destruction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE2y3js2OQ4
Way to go, Feisty, I just lost my appetite. LOL -- You can always count on the Santorum Jam diet to make you throw up a little in your mouth.
As a voter, i take the words of campaigning politicians (especially republicans) with a grain of salt. The blame game doesn't work as well as you would think. OF COURSE you're gonna say it's the other guys fault. YOU'RE CAMPAIGNING FOR HIS JOB for Christ's sake.
But the one thing ALL of his accusers lack - A PLAN OF THEIR OWN. Let's see that instead of just patently blaming the President.
I want to know when the MSM is going to start asking them some tough questions instead of handing them the microphone to spout their bullsh!t!
i guess we have to wait for a debate. Sad, but to allow these candidates to flat out LIE to the American public in prime time, while the President does his very best to remain true and professional is just outrageous.
In addition to Faux News, we now have 60 or 70 Republican Presidential candidates roaming around Iowa, spreading falsehoods and attacking President Obama, and, of course, the MSM must cover every one of them. Can't wait for the attack ads to start, especially the "cute" ones designed to go viral.
What do you call '60 or 70 Republican Presidential candidates roaming around Iowa'?
What's worst yet is that their plans are just like GWB's - cut taxes, deregulation and hope it all trickles down... Oops, that doesn't work...
Sometimes you think there's 60 or 70 of them. I think there's about 20 but they spread so much elephant dung around Iowa that you'd think it was 60 or 70. Iowa towns are threatening to send the candidates bills to cover the added cost for the extra pooper scoopers and workers needed to follow along behind those elephants.
O.K. - I'll give it a stab.
"What do you call '60 or 70 Republican Presidential candidates roaming around Iowa'?"
(or 20, Jody)
- Lost.
- A dung beetles dream
- The anti-Mensa caucus
- Zombies
Any more?
A herd?
No, wait-
A Congregation!
That would make them all 10 percent-ers, right?
Great...thanks Senator. Your calming and words and authoritative talk have rung well with the 'markets'.
Apparently, the President's speeches are worthless, but your speeches, magical.
Thanks for adding your 2 cents. Without a doubt, it clearly feels like well...2 cents.
That's President Obama, Allen, whether you like him or not.
That's funny Judy...I had to read your comment a couple of times.
My comments were of Sen. Santorum, not of the President.
The President continues to amaze me, really. To wake up to the crap this man wakes up to every single day is truly amazing. No win situation continually surrounds what he has to deal with, yet daily the man brings class, sophistication and what I see as a sincere effort to make Government work they way it should.
Arm chair quarterbacks.
Gotta love 'em.
Or not.
"We're not spending any money here. We don't have the [n]ads. "
That's not all you don't have, Rick.
Who do the conservatives here like in the straw poll? It seems that Pawlenty gets more ink here than he has supporters...
I'm from PA, Rick Santorum is clueless and always has been. He wasn't an effective senator and did nothing for our state in terms of the economy - just a lot of family values talk which is all well and good, but not putting any food on my table...
Santorum has spent a lot of time in Iowa the past couple years as has Pawlenty yet neither of them have much to show for their efforts. Santorum might not be spending money on TV ads but he's forking out the cash for bus rides to/from Ames, etc.
This man is so blatantly stupid, he makes my head hurt. He was a horrible Senator.
No one cares what he thinks or says!
This is why Pa. showed him the door he's a wack job
Rick's not running for president -- he's auditioning for a gig on Fox.
Santorum is responsible for the fall of the stock market . he did nothing to stop the t baggers . He just made millions of seniors lose what was left of their retirement investments ..Now they only have social security and medicare to live on ...And he is trying to take that away to !
Google "Santorum"! Look for a definition of the word.
Gov. Perry...proud to be a loudmouth, bible-thumpin' preacher from the great cow pasture state that smells like a horse pasture: Tex-ass!
And...he comes with a stupid grin painted on his face. Familiar?