On Friday, a friend and I shared a babysitter and went to a Mitt Romney luncheon/discussion at a hotel in Coralville (just North of Iowa City). I am not one to miss a free lunch, and also wanted to hear what he had to say. There were probably about 250 people there and about that many cameras/camcorders. We got lucky and sat at a table in the back that just happened to be near the door where he came in. He shook hands with everyone at our table and a couple of others in the back and then went to the front and talked for about 10 minutes and then opened the floor to questions. There were many people I recognized from our ward and the stake, but a majority were non-members. How do I know? They served coffee, iced tea, and water, so it was pretty easy to tell by what people were drinking. I also wouldn't say it was a room full of supporters--I think a lot of people were there to check him out.
I really liked his thoughts and ideas, especially his focus on the family as an essential ingredient to a strong country (though he didn't give any specifics on how to go about strengthening families) and his general demeanor and personality--I won't go into his viewpoints, which you can look up for yourself on his website, but I will say that I liked what I heard and was glad for the opportunity to meet him in person. I wish I could meet all the candidates and hear them in person answering questions. Barack Obama was in town today but it was during church and was a big rally rather than a discussion. There are definite pluses to living in Iowa!
