I couldn’t attend these two events (that ol’ 9-5 thing again), but the local paper did cover them. Which was a surprise to me, because every time I open the paper in the morning it’s cover-to-cover articles of the Democrats.

Anyway, Huckabee appeared at the Bridgeview Center* in Ottumwa on Friday. According to the paper, “hundreds” turned out.

To get a better idea of what the word “hundreds” means to the local paper, watch this clip that the Huckabee campaign uploaded from this event:

The part of the center that was used seats about 650. Judging from the video clip, most (if not all) of those 650 seats were filled. One has to wonder if Huckabee would have used a larger venue (the exhibition hall seats about 2500) if he would have had even more people attending. Just speculating, but I’d have to say that he very well might have. Ottumwa has an older, chruch-attending population and I’m sure a lot of them are supporting him right now. Even though this is primarily a Democrat town, there are plenty of Republicans in the surrounding areas, and they very well could be backing him for President. I’ll find out for sure on Caucus night this coming Thursday (I’ll have a report immediately after we’re done).

Second event, which I mentioned yesterday morning, was a Fred Thompson appearance at the Hotel Ottumwa. According to the local paper, the room was “packed” (is it too much to ask for these reporters to do a head count? Sheesh!):

The audience was younger than that for most campaign events. It helped that school is out for the winter break. And it helped that Thompson’s visit was in the middle of the day.

You know what might have helped even more? Letting people know far enough in advance that he was coming. I received my notification about four hours before he was to appear, certainly not enough time to drop what I was doing and attend.

More:

Thompson repeated his campaign’s basic conservative stances during his comments. But he also took time to point out his record as a federal prosecutor who took on a president during Watergate and a Tennessee governor a few years later.

Thompson said it was too late for candidates to be coy about asking for support. He asked the audience to take a hard look at the candidates, ask what candidates’ beliefs are and whether those beliefs match their personal views.

Thompson said border security is both a national security issue and a fairness question for those who want to come to the U.S. legally.

“We need to be a nation of high fences and wide gates,” he said. “We’re a nation that processes about 1 million green cards per year. That’s more than we did in the early 1990s.”

Sanctuary cities don’t have a place in Thompson’s immigration policy. He said cities must enforce the law, not exempt themselves from it. He also blasted judges who don’t enforce the Constitution, but “make it up as they go along.”

Not to beat a dead horse, but Fred couldn’t have picked a better town than Ottumwa to give the illegal immigration speech. Ottumwa is rapidly becoming a sanctuary city, and residents are getting mighty fed up with it. We are rapidly seeing an increase of our illegal immigrant population, so believe me, his words resonate with the locals in that department.

Update: Exclusive footage of Senator Thompson in Ottumwa (thanks to Jon):

And finally, ladies and gentlemen of Ottumwa, lock up your women and your teenage daughters, because Bill Clinton is coming to town on Monday.

Speaking of the Clintons, I stopped for gas at the local station the other day, and there was a lady sporting just about every kind of Hillary paraphernalia that you can imagine. Buttons, scarf, stickers, etc., all saying “Team Hillary” or “Vote Hillary” or some such stuff. One of the local farmers that was in there said “Hillary?!?” and the woman replied, “Yeah…she’s going to be our next President!”

Immediately after saying that, I kid you not, she started to dig through her purse to pay for her stuff. After a few seconds she declared “I don’t have any money” (meaning, she didn’t have any cash on her and she’d have to use her credit card). I couldn’t resist, so I said “If Hillary gets elected, you’ll be saying that every single day.”

The farmers laughed and laughed and laughed. I swear, she got so red in the face and flusterd that I thought she was going to pop a button or something. Suffice it to say, she was not amused. But I thought it was quite telling that she couldn’t think of a single thing to say in response. And it wasn’t because she wasn’t trying to come up with something, because she was…she just couldn’t!

You know what they say, the truth hurts. I’m sorry I had to be the one to pop this particular bubble, but if she’s gonna stick with Hillary the way she obviously intends to, she’d better get used to it, because it won’t be the last time she’s confronted with reality.

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