Newt in Ames

My first political event in Iowa was a campaign stop by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Callista. The place: West Side Towne Pub in Ames. I arrived at about 11:30 for an event scheduled to start at noon. The place was full enough that I couldn't get a table but not yet packed. Most people were there clearly for the event, many of them media, and just stood by without ordering food. A few unfortunate Iowans had come to the sports bar thinking they'd spend a low-key afternoon watching the last week of NFL football; little did they know...

By noon, it was packed. I'd estimate one-third were national reporters and photographers and the rest actual Iowans. I struck up a conversation with an older lady waiting to get her Newt-authored book signed and her husband. They were undecided between caucusing for Gingrich or Romney. She said those two were the only that could go toe-to-toe with Obama in the debates, a reasonable assessment. Nearby, I heard an Iowan comment on the caucus, "We may not always pick the president but we narrow it down to the final three."

No one really knew what to expect inside the restaurant, Newt's bus pulled in shortly after noon and a cheer went up. When the candidate didn't enter the establishment's main entrance after a few minutes the media finally caught on to the fact that Newt had gone in through the kitchen. There was a scramble to the back of the bar where I was able to catch a glimpse of Newt behind FoxNews lighting doing a live Sunday morning news interview with Callista looking on. It was odd to hear Newt giving the interview in person as well on the TVs in the bar on a 10 second delay.

After the interview Newt left through the kitchen and the media people started to groan that they weren't going to get any coverage of him interacting with voters. Luckily, within a few minutes Gingrich strode through the bar's main doors and slowly made his way through the crowd. He patiently took the time to shake hands and pose for photos with everyone who wanted to meet him.

The national media were out in force. Among other national names, I saw NBC's David Gregory (he's super tall in person!), TIME's Mark Helprin, and FoxNews' Brett Baier. From my brief 10 seconds meeting Newt and Callista I found them both to be gracious and kind. Callista shook hands and thanked me for being there. Newt shook hands, and then unknowingly shook my hand once more a minute later in the thick of the crowd.

Newt seemed to be on autopilot but I still appreciated his humbleness. I do get the sense that he has changed from the bitter partisan he once was, but that old personality reappears in flashes. When the national media tried to corner him on just how well he had to do in Iowa to beat expectations (a strange premise for a question to be sure given that whatever he answered would set expectations), he gave the icy answer, "Look at all the people here, I think we'll be just fine."