The Ghost Of Mitt Romney
Newt Gingrich had a televised interview with Bill O'Rielly from this exact spot in Oskaloosa, but there's still no Mitt.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – It is either a blessing or a curse living in Iowa during the first phases of a presidential election cycle. Of course there are the tv ads, but also constant mailings, robocalls, and people pounding on your door asking you questions.
There are news articles covering the latest stops and sound bites of a candidate sticking their foot in their mouth once again. Iowans have a tendency to be overloaded by the time the caucuses actually happen and are grateful the circus has finally left town and have headed off to the next state when it is all set and done.
With all of this irritation and responsibility comes great opportunity. Nearly every state in the union wishes to have Iowa’s spot in the election process, and at least a few states attempt to break ranks with party lines in order to shove themselves to the top of the line. Before you say let them, and our apathy towards politics leads us to believe none of this matters anymore, stop and think about how much your opinion matters on who the next president will be.
Presidential candidates bring money to the state. They bring media attention putting the spotlight on a people that normally shy away from such things.
Oskaloosa has had nearly every presidential candidate visit us this election cycle, with the exception of Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. Rick Perry will be here on Wednesday, December 28th at 5:00 pm at Smokey Row, but there is no stop planned for Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney has spent a grand total of 11 days in Iowa trying to gather support for his campaign. The 21 total events he’s had is nothing but a drop in the proverbial bucket compared to many of his competitors.
No one comes close to Rick Santorum for total time spent in Iowa with his 98 days and 283 campaign stops. Iowa has been Santorum’s focus, and he will have nearly done “The Grassley” twice before the big night.
While no longer in the race, Herman Cain still has Romney beat 3 times over with his 36 days in the state racking up 69 campaign stops in his shortened bid for the White House. Only 3 other candidates have less time in Iowa than Romney: Buddy Roemer, Gary Johnson, and Jon Huntsman.
Even Sarah Palin, who isn’t running for President, has at least half as much time in the state as Romney.
My guess is Romney is sore over having lost the last Iowa Caucus and would rather spend his time elsewhere.
Romney may very well win the Iowa Caucuses by being a ‘Ghost Candidate’, and if he does, it will only serve to prove that it’s not important for the politicians to come to your town, answer your questions, shake your hand and have their picture taken with you.
The worst part of this could be that Iowa could be found irrelevant because a candidate won, even though he spent nearly no time here. I prefer to stay relevant.
