Texas Gov. Rick Perry Draws Big Crowd for Iowa City Visit

How Rick Perry does in the Iowa caucuses remains to be seen, but just a few days into his presidential campaign he hit all the traditional Iowa stops.

Perry may be making up for lost time. He had not previously campaigned in Iowa and didn't take part in Saturday's GOP Straw Poll. But some voters attending wrote him in as a candidate at the poll, where he finished in sixth place.

After announcing his presidential candidacy on Saturday, the Republican Governor from Texas was at the Iowa State Fair Monday morning, and then hopped on his “Get America Working Again” tour bus for a visit to the Hamburg Inn No. 2 in Iowa City.

A crowd of supporters, protesters and otherwise interested onlookers over 100 strong were there waiting for him. Waitresses cirvumvented the mass of bodies packed into the restauraunt, delivering food and coffee to the buzzing crowds.

Once he arrived Perry moved through the crowded restaurant shaking hands and signing items for smiling locals, greeting people as he passed with a friendly "howdy." He voted for himself in the Hamburg Inn's traditional coffee bean presidential poll, and stopped very briefly to address the crowd.

Perry said that he entered the presidential race because the nation must deal with a looming debt problem.

"I think I know how to deal with it," Perry said of the debt. "We've got to reduce the tax burden on small business operators, we've got to have regulations that are fair but predictable, and we've got to have a legal system that doesn't allow for oversuing.

"Then the government just kind of needs to get out of the way and let the private sector do it," he said to a cheers from the audience.

"I know that's the Cliff's Notes version of what I'm all about, but it really can be encapsulated that simply," Perry said. "We just need to have to have the courage to do it, and to elect men and women that believe that."

After roughly a half hour in the restaurant, Perry was ushered away into the bus. For trivia fans, the Perry team bought three pie shakes to go: a cherry pie shake for Rick Perry, a strawberry pie shake for his wife and a chocolate bourbon pecan pie shake for his daughter.

Former Johnson County Republican Central Committee chairman Bill Keettel said he was impressed with Perry, and said his combination of looks, style, policies and big state experience will make him a formidable contender.

Keettel said Perry's lack of strength with voters of Tea Party or Libertarian bent will not stop him from being a strong candidate in Iowa, along with current frontrunners Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann.

"The Tea Party and the Libertarians are garnish for this meal; (Perry) is the main course," Keettel said.

Rick Walters, of Iowa City, a former union member who worked for MidAmerican Energy, said Perry's strong Republican credentials and appealing background already inspired him to write Perry in for the Iowa Straw Poll and volunteer for his campaign.

"It's easier to relate to him as a candidate than say a Romney candidate," Watters said.

Carol Ann Christansen, a retired teacher and small business owner from Iowa City, sat a table waiting for Perry, eating a batch of sweet potato fries. She said even though Perry would not be staying long to talk, it would still be a worthwhile experience.

"We just want to come out to show we support him," Christiansen said.

Hamburg Inn general manager Liz Sanders said in her 10 years at the restaurant she has seen countless state and national political figures drop in, including the last two presidential contenders John McCain and current president Barack Obama.

"With the cramped conditions it can be a little trying, but we're used to that anyway," Sanders said with a smile.

They should be. Just another presidential year in Iowa.