On January 26th I had the opportunity to hear Gov. Romney speak at Beck's Restaurant in Waterloo, Iowa.

An overflow crowd of over 300 Iowa Republicans attended the 11:30 AM event. For a weekday event held in the middle of the Iowa winter, that's a very impressive turnout. Mitt spoke of his conservative values and drew upon his experience in both the private and public sectors. After a speech highlighting his core conservative beliefs and values, Gov. Romney took questions from the audience. Romney spoke of how foreign policy is no longer a "black and red checkers game", that the Cold War is over but we have new challenges to face. On domestic issues Gov. Romney stressed raising the bar on education and made it clear that the issue of education should not be ceded to the democrats. Many in attendance filled out cards to support Romney at the August 11th "Iowa Straw Poll". Jim Kirkpatrick