Posted on 01/01/2012 6:17:50 AM PST by Kaslin
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa- Bobby Burns has had a dramatic change of heart.
Burns, 23, was one of those young people swept up in Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Three years and one college degree later, he cannot imagine a scenario in which he would consider voting for the president's re-election.
"I guess you could say I have seen the light," he said.
On Tuesday he will caucus in a precinct right down the road from where he grew up. His vote will go for Mitt Romney.
Davenport is 60 miles east of here along Interstate 80, past two closed service-station interchanges and a relatively new but shuttered chain hotel. In the center of the city, overlooking the Mississippi River, is the majestic Blackhawk Hotel.
The century-old hotel is where presidents -- or guys who want to be president -- come to speak. Richard Nixon campaigned there; Obama stayed there just a few weeks ago.
Last week, Romney packed an enthusiastic crowd into the Blackhawk's Gold Room. Garrison Gardner, the hotel's on-duty manager, watched the former Massachusetts governor make his pitch for caucus voters.
Gardner, who leans Democrat, said he is ripe to be persuaded to vote for Romney. "Anything is better than what he have going on now at the White House," the former Obama supporter said.
While everyone focuses on the Republicans' shifting nomination process, they overlook Obama's Iowa problem.
The Hawkeye State began Obama's string of caucus victories that gave him a majority of the Democrats' "super-delegates" over Hillary Clinton in 2008, followed by a comfortable victory over Republican John McCain in the fall. It is not electrified by his presidential record, however.
Iowa does not share the country's high unemployment rate -- but it does share the Midwest's disapproval of the president's performance. A Public Policy poll late last summer showed just 45 percent of voters approved of Obama while 48 percent disapproved; independents split against him, 43 to 47; only 79 percent of Democrats thought he was doing a good job, while 87 percent of Republicans disagreed.
On Earth Day, just a handful of months after being sworn into office, Obama visited Newton, Iowa, located farther south along I-80. Standing at the TCI Composites wind-turbine plant, he praised the state's efforts in "green" alternative energy.
"The nation that leads the world in creating new energy sources will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy. America can be that nation," he proclaimed.
He stressed the significance of wind energy as part of the green economy and he said TCI's new plant was critically important to Newton, which was devastated by the closure of Maytag's plant and corporate headquarters.
Late last week, TCI Composites, recipient of city and state tax credits and federal stimulus funds, laid off almost 200 workers. The company said it hoped to rehire them next spring.
Allen Anthony, 51, one of the furloughed workers, is not optimistic. "I really have no idea if they really will hire me or any of the other guys back," he said.
Leaning against a chain-link fence outside of the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Anthony looked exhausted. "Twenty-three years ago I made more than I did today," he said. "My future, my town's future, is all heading in the wrong direction."
His family spent a combined 85 years working at the Maytag plant. "Three generations in Newton," he said. "Now it is Maytag made in Mexico."
He will not support Obama again, he added.
Economic anxiety will play a larger-than-normal role in this year's presidential election. Less than a year out, the president lacks a message (although he has shopped a few of them, such as "We can't wait") or a policy that he can run on.
It's not going to be health care -- and definitely not bailouts. If the economy starts to recover, perhaps he can point to that.
All that he has right now, despite Washington media reports predicting his resurrection in the polls, is a political machine that can turn out just enough voters for him to win electorally.
Yet with guys like Allen Anthony, Barack Obama still lacks a persuasive reason for them to turn out and vote for him.
Oh, I'd stick with that one, Barack!
If his vote is going for Mitt Romney, then he hasn’t seen the light.
Looks like Bobby Burns recieved a brain from the great wizard of OZ. There is hope, and its not obama hope
Exactly. One of the problems with Iowa is that it’s virtually an open primary because voters can change parties on the day of the election, and thus what are essentially Dems get to pick the GOP candidate.
I was thinking the same thing. A vote for Mitt Romney is a vote for a white Obama.
Although I can see no way Romney could possibly compete with the insanity of an Obama administration , he wouldn’t be much better either.
Iowa has around 620,000 registered Republicans. A good caucus turnout would be 130,000.
Contrary to FR hysteria, the number of crossover Democrats will be negligible. There are over 1,700 precinct locations for those 130,000 attendees. Do the math. How much caucus-crashing would be tolerated when people recognize each other?
I don’t think it would necessarily be caucus crashing, that is, done with malicious intent. But I do think that the ease with which people who have no track record as GOPers can switch parties that day will certainly lead to a Dem influence, which would probably be translated into voting for the person who is most like a Dem, who would be Romney.
I think that’s one of the reasons he’s so confident about Iowa and also one of the reasons that his attacks have been directed at the other candidates and not at Obama. He doesn’t want to alienate potential Dem support.
All that ‘light’ must have blinded him.
Romney would be the slow road to Hell; pretty much what's been going on in Washington for the last 100 years as Washington grows and grows and regulates and regulates. Obama, on the other hand, is the express elevator to Hell.
Maybe he has seen a flicker of light. The real test will be if they vote for someone other than Romney and Obama in the real election. I fear too many who prefer a RINO to Obama will still vote for the Won if a conservative is nominated for our side. I still think we can win it with a conservative, but have no delusions that it's in the bag. Lots of educational opportunities need to be leveraged to shed more light on how terrible Obama is.
Until the first primaries are moved South, they only candidates we will EVER get from Cornholia and Bluebloodia are RINO’s.
As we get into the election season the ability of the media to gloss over Obama's record (or lack thereof) will diminish. The question "Are you better off now than 4 years ago?" will resonate with voters.
Obama is the walking, talking embodiment of the "tax and spend" Democrat. How can he hide his contribution to the national debt?
While I think we have a lot of work to do it appears that Obama has problems that union and Wall Street money can't overcome.
On this New Year's Day, paint me optimistic.
Crossovers work both ways.
Iowa has about the same percent of evangelicals as the national average, but DOUBLE the percent of mainstream liberal denomination adherents. In other words, Iowa, even Iowa Republicans, aren’t especially conservative.
The popular theory is that Democrat crossovers would support a weak candidate like Paul - or Santorum - instead of Messiah Gingrich or Messiah Perry.
Unfortunately, Iowegian Republicans don’t need Democrat push to support Romney!
In the state that gives us Tom Harkin? Say it ain’t so!
This is precisely why we will probably be stuck with another preplanned Eastern Royalist President. The Democrats are infiltrating the Republican Party and changing it to the RINO Party. There is nothing left for people to choose.
“He will not support Obama again, he added”
Comment self edited.
Well, good luck finding another job, pal.
That’s why the Establishment Republicans give us Iowa and N.H. first - to tip the scales to RINOs.
We need a complete shakeup - Wyoming and South Carolina first in ‘16.
Harkin brings home the bacon...
Apparently not...
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