Punch & Judy in Cedar Rapids, IA today! (But don't ask them to view flood damage)

CEDAR RAPIDS - The impact of this morning's visit by John McCain and Sarah Palin cannot be measured by how long they stay, but by how much time supporters put in over the next seven weeks to get them elected, a campaign official said.

McCain and Palin will fly into The Eastern Iowa Airport for a 10 a.m. rally in a hangar at PS Air, 3411 Beech Way SW, and then leave for an afternoon rally in Green Bay, Wis.

"All in all, I think they would like to spend more time on the ground," the campaign's Iowa Chairman Dave Roederer said. "The fact is they have X number of days and there are several states still in play."

McCain, however, is being criticized for not making time to tour Cedar Rapids flood damage.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080918/NEWS/709189944/-1/rss01&rssfeed=rss01

Edit to add : Check out the picture of the "home-made" signs getting prepared BY THE CAMPAIGN OFFICIALS in the airport hangar where the rally will take place!

I live in CR and Obama and Pelosi have both been here. I think they scheduled this Iowa rally a few weeks ago when they thought national trends in their direction would bring Iowa their way. Since they have no shot of winning Iowa, they are cutting short their trips.

We are so solidly Obama in Iowa that no incumbant Democrat will lose any congressional election, nor will we lose more than a few seats in the legislature.

I'm almost surprised they didn't attempt to schedule the rally out in the western part of the state, in Steve King country. My guess is they didn't have an airport capable of handling "Air Straight Talk"...

I don't get it. No chance for them in the state and the House races aren't tight, and he doesn't need to poke Harkin with a stick. From what I understand, Palin's appeal to the radical base is limited in Iowa. Refueling maybe?, or just a chance to get foreign experience? Move on, nothing to drill here.

Does he want another fight with Sen. Grassely?



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/20/john-mccain-charles-grass_n_97626.html


McCain didn't do well in the primary, showed little concern during the flood (didn't visit then), and the state is pissed about slow disaster payments. I don't really care what they do, but these puzzles are mounting up.

He even voted against it when the Democratic party took control of congress. The bill included authorization for flood control projects in Iowa. A water works bill is usually passed by congress every 2 years but McCain the Repubs blocked them in 2002 and 2004. Despite the fact that the bill didn't contain funding but just authorization, McCain claimed it was pork. The Iowans could have used those projects well before the Democratic bill finally passed. McCain probably didn't want to return to the scene of his crime.