Ron Paul greeted by overflow crowd first day back in Iowa | The Ticket - Yahoo! News: DES MOINES, Iowa--DES MOINES, Iowa-- Ron Paul's first public event in Iowa since the release of a Des Moines Register poll putting him within striking distance of Mitt Romney was so packed that workers took down a dividing wall at the downtown Marriott's Salon D ballroom. Supporters as well as national political reporters lined up to cover the action.
"This is almost like a real rally!" the Texas congressman told the crowd at the event, which had been billed simply as a "whistlestop."
The Des Moines Register poll, released this weekend, showed Paul 2 percentage points behind former Massachusetts Gov. Romney (22 to 24 percent) in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa ahead of Tuesday night's vote. (The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4 percent.) Monday's Marriott throng reflected the fresh jolt of energy behind the Texas congressman's campaign.
Monday's speech was packed with media celebrities, including MSNBC's Joe Scarborough; Bret Baier of Fox News; Joe Klein of Time; Dana Bash and Soledad O'Brien of CNN; Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times, the New York Times' David Brooks and CSPAN's Steve Scully.
Some 150 chairs and all of the press risers were filled a half-hour before the event was scheduled to begin, prompting organizers to remove the room's sliding wall.
"The enthusiasm is growing by leaps and bounds and crowds are getting bigger," Paul said. He chalked up some of the growing interest--and the growing coffer of campaign donations that's come with his new visibility on the trail--to his anti-war stance and a desire to bring troops home from Afghanistan. Paul added, however, that his growing appeal all comes down to a single message
"This is almost like a real rally!" the Texas congressman told the crowd at the event, which had been billed simply as a "whistlestop."
The Des Moines Register poll, released this weekend, showed Paul 2 percentage points behind former Massachusetts Gov. Romney (22 to 24 percent) in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa ahead of Tuesday night's vote. (The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4 percent.) Monday's Marriott throng reflected the fresh jolt of energy behind the Texas congressman's campaign.
Monday's speech was packed with media celebrities, including MSNBC's Joe Scarborough; Bret Baier of Fox News; Joe Klein of Time; Dana Bash and Soledad O'Brien of CNN; Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times, the New York Times' David Brooks and CSPAN's Steve Scully.
Some 150 chairs and all of the press risers were filled a half-hour before the event was scheduled to begin, prompting organizers to remove the room's sliding wall.
"The enthusiasm is growing by leaps and bounds and crowds are getting bigger," Paul said. He chalked up some of the growing interest--and the growing coffer of campaign donations that's come with his new visibility on the trail--to his anti-war stance and a desire to bring troops home from Afghanistan. Paul added, however, that his growing appeal all comes down to a single message
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