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Well, I got to Tipton about 20 minutes early, there were about 3 dozen or so people there-which is pretty good considering the size of the venue (just a small, family owned cafe). I saw quite a few people I know and we got a chance to chit chat before hand..they (like me) were undecided, leaning mostly Obama, or Edwards, one was considering Richardson...no Hilary supporters though....anyway, my cell phone rings, and it's my oldest daughter. The kids had just gotten home from school and my youngest had started throwing up, so I had to leave before I even SAW Sen. Biden. BUT, I did touch base with several of the people I knew there since then, and the feedback was VERY positive. Every person I talked to was extremely impressed with him. Two had decided that they were going to support him. Another one said he just couldn't get over the Anita Hill thing, and I told him that Joe did ultimately vote against Clarence Thomas'confirmation...then he felt he might be able to "forgive" it, but he'd have to think about it more. There did seem to be a common theme though, that there is general confusion about why he doesn't have more support, and why his campaign isn't more..I guess "In your face" would be the best word. They felt Joe Biden was more like a well kept secret. He doesn't have a lot of commercials out, and his events are not well publicized...even the Tipton weekly paper did not publish that he was going to be in Tipton. Maybe the campaign will ramp up as we get closer to caucus, though. But all in all there was a general disappointment that so many are missing the message of JoeBiden. Some comments were that, he didn't have the perfect "fix-it-all" solutions, but they were were things that could actually be done, and would be a general improvement. (This was a direct comparison to Kucinich and his healthcare proposal). Most of them felt his plan for Iraq made the most sense out of any of the candidates. And Joe did well at coming across as a "straight-shooter" and no-nonsense kind of guy. And everyone seemed almost surprised they liked him as much as they did, which makes me wonder, what did they expect? What preconceived notions did they have of the Senator before they went? But his common-sense approach played well. Quite honestly Iowans (like the rest of America) are sick and tired of pie-in-the-sky campaign promises. We want to see REAL action for a change, and it seems Biden is the guy that can actually deliver. At any rate, I'm even more disappointed I didn't get to see him, so I'll be watching his schedule closely for an event near me..but all this feedback bodes well for Joe, and I hope the campaign becomes a little more agressive in the coming weeks and months.
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