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Palin pooh-poohs Iowa polls DUBUQUE — Down double-digits in most Iowa polls, Republican presidential nominee John McCain has no shortage of detractors. The perennial battleground state solidly favors Democratic counterpart Barack Obama this year, many argue and polls show. But McCain’s campaign remains defiant, refusing to concede Iowa to Obama.
Underscoring that confidence, McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, made a final stop in front of 5,000 people in Dubuque on Monday. “If we didn’t think we had a chance in Iowa, she wouldn’t be here,” Dave Roederer, McCain’s Iowa chairman, said after the event. He remains undeterred by negative polling results, he said, pointing to pro-McCain polling numbers from internal polling. “They’re so different from what ours are showing,” he said. “We actually feel real good.” Pre-Palin speakers at the event seemed equally as upbeat. “This race is winnable,” Rep. Steve Lukan, R-New Vienna, told the pom-pom-waving, “Country First” sign-holding crowd. “Don’t let the media tell you any different. The momentum is with us.” “Iowa never counts out two mavericks,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. Along that same vein, McCain’s national campaign manager, Rick Davis, e-mailed supporters just days ago, arguing Iowa is “moving swiftly into McCain’s column.” He contended Obama’s postponed stop in Des Moines on Oct. 31 was evidence of such a shift. “Our numbers in Iowa have seen a tremendous surge in the past 10 days,” Davis said. “We took Obama’s lead from the double digits to a very close race. That is why you see Barack Obama visiting the state in the final days, trying to stem his losses. “It is too little, too late.” But other people weren’t so sure. “The polls don’t look good,” attendee Maureen Saul said, appearing somewhat deflated by the possibility of such a loss. Jenni Lee, a spokeswoman for Obama, said the Iowa campaign was “taking nothing for granted. We feel good.” Tim Hagle, a UI political-science associate professor, said the Dubuque rally represents that the McCain campaign hasn’t “written off Iowa.” Another attendee argued much the same. “I think [Palin] wouldn’t be here if they didn’t think they had a chance,” said Mark Osterhaus, who came from Wisconsin. “There a lot of other places she could be.” But stopping in typically Democratic areas hasn’t been unusual for the McCain campaign recently: McCain or Palin have gone to areas John Kerry won in 2004 on virtually every trip to Iowa lately. That was the case on Monday, as Palin spoke to the typically Democratic-leaning — but staunchly socially conservative — Dubuque County crowd. Hagle said the environment may not have been accidental, considering Palin’s pro-working class, socially conservative rhetoric. Palin delivered an archetypal stump speech, hitting Obama for his stances on taxes, the Iraq war, and drilling and alternative energy. “He’s not being candid with you,” she said. “He’s not telling you where the dollars are coming from to pay for those proposals. It’s got to come from higher taxes.” She also stressed the need for a bipartisan government and checking any perceived shortcomings that may arise during Democratic leadership. “Let us not entrust all the powers of the federal government to the one-party rule of Obama, [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi, and [U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid,” Palin said. |
