Mitt Romney: Surprise Hit in Iowa

Jan. 29, 2007 — -- One of the up-and-coming presidential candidates made a significant first trip to Iowa since throwing a hat into the increasingly crowded ring.

As the candidate spent the day talking with Hawkeye fans from Waterloo to Dubuque while campaigning at sports bars, making the mandatory ethanol factory visit, and shaking countless hands in between, one thing became clear: This candidate has buzz.

Does this sound like Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.? Wrong.

Try former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

While the New York senator ultimately garnered most of the headlines Monday morning, most noting her "evil men" joke, Romney's trip to Iowa Friday gathered hundreds of supporters in this key primary state.

Throughout the day, Romney presented himself as a personable, smart candidate, hoping to "convince a few people that [he's] somebody who's worth giving a second look."

Stopping at Beck's Restaurant in Waterloo, the "few people" turned out to be more than 200, and they didn't just come for the free food.

Romney's day continued at an ethanol plant where he highlighted the need for the United States to adopt alternative technologies. "As a nation we need to support the development of new technologies," he said as he toured the plant, "and the adoption of new technologies, so we can free ourselves from the nonmarket OPEC stranglehold on energy in this country."

And as the day of campaigning continued, Romney's comments turned decidedly personal when he spoke about stem cell research. Ann Romney, the former governor's wife, has multiple sclerosis. "In my view, the fact that my wife has MS makes me particularly aware of and sensitive to the fact that we have high hopes that stem sell research or other forms of research will lead to cures."

"I like stem cell research. I want to see more of it, not less. I'm in favor of using surplus embryos from in vitro fertilizations for stem cell research. But I'm not in favor of creating new embryos to destroy them or to experiment with them."

But while the day was a success, it also became clear that Romney has to pin down his answers on some tricky questions in the next few months.