Romney disses own state, Dems diss each other

Romney disses own state, Dems diss each other

Mitt Romney in town yesterday. Apparantly the Mass Bash is a standard part of teh stump speech:

'I do feel like a red speck in a blue sea, and I am sure you feel like that a bit in Iowa, as well,' he said to a group of UI students at a luncheon in the Pappajohn Business Building.

The Overrated One namechecks Romney in a section devoted mostly to Giuliani bashing:

"His trip illustrates he's got a few things to learn about presidential campaigning in Iowa. We do small-state, retail politics here, not the big-city stuff. His five-SUV caravan, security guards and staged media events for his national press entourage bring to mind other big-state politicians — like then-California Gov. Pete Wilson — who misfired in Iowa because they didn't understand the need to do one-on-one, grassroots work.

Out here on the prairie, campaigns are more than money and media. They're about key people. George Pataki and Mitt Romney get it. Giuliani doesn't. When we see Hizzoner meeting with a couple of dozen Republicans at a house party in Brooklyn — Iowa — we'll know he's for real."

Mister Overrated devotes most of the column to noting the shocking news that Chet Culver and Mike Blouin are saying Not Nice things about each other: "If they're not careful, Blouin and Culver can do Nussle's dirty work for him by carving up the eventual nominee." Try to restrain your glee a little bit there, Yepsen.

Meanwhile Fallon is doing the classic underfunded candidate move of making a token TV buy to create a news story.

One of the ads is almost silent, using captioning instead of sound of Fallon saying, "I'm running for governor because special interests and paid lobbyists have taken away your voice."

Another ad makes light of the "big-name" endorsements that other candidates have trumpeted...

A couple notes of caution:

Primary attacks can cause internal problems, as well as he kind of ammo for the other party that Yepsen is so delighted about. Should you win the nomination, Ed, you'll need those legislators and labor unions in your corner. This plays into the "he can't get along" image. I know Fallon supporters see this as a strength, but it's only a strength to a point.

Is campaign finance and lobby reform an issue that resonates with real world voters? Maybe it should, but just because activists WANT it to be a front burner issue doesn't make it so. Real world people, who are just barely beginning to tune in to this primary, are worrying about education and doctor bills and gas prices, and political money, despite its overarching importance, is inside baseball.