August 15, 2007

AMES, Iowa — The "We Need Alan Keyes for President" organization sponsored two booths Saturday at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames — one inside and one outside the Hilton Coliseum.

Repeatedly, the response of well-wishers was "I love Alan Keyes," "Is Alan here?", or "If Alan were on the ballot, I'd vote for him."

These kinds of comments were frequent, even nonstop, by passersby as they were given literature by volunteers manning the organization's booths.

Stephen Stone, head of the organization, said, "I was surprised at how spontaneous people were in their expressions of support for Alan." Stone added that he personally encountered innumerable people at the straw poll who told him, in passionate voices, that they "love Alan Keyes" and wished he were at the event.

The straw poll itself was won by Mitt Romney, who is rumored to have spent 5 million dollars in an effort to attract votes in the non-binding balloting, which is billed by the state GOP as a means of thinning out the field of presidential hopefuls. Romney had 31 percent.

Coming in second was Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, who vied with third-place finisher Sam Brownback for the moral conservative vote. Huckabee had 18 percent to Brownback's 15 percent. Huckabee spent a minuscule fraction of the per-vote total of Romney — an estimated dime for every three dollars spent by Romney.

Dropping out almost immediately after the straw poll was Tommy Thompson, who had said beforehand that he needed a second-place finish to keep his campaign afloat. He came in sixth in a field of eleven, with 7 percent of the vote, and withdrew the next day.

Keyes is yet unannounced for president, and — along with Newt Gingrich and Fred Thompson — is watching the preliminary stages of the 2008 presidential election before deciding whether to run. He has stated that he will run if his supporters demonstrate sufficient grassroots support for such a decision.

Asked what distinguishes Keyes from the rest of the Republican hopefuls, supporters note that he is the only potential nominee who bases all his political positions on clearly-articulated moral premises — including positions affecting jobs, taxes, the economy, national security, and interpretation of law, as well as life and marriage issues. He derives much of his moral perspective from the Declaration of Independence, which he emphasizes defines the role of government in clear moral terms that center in securing all citizens' God-given rights.

Stone stressed that another thing that makes Keyes distinctive is that he is the only potential hopeful who has national security expertise. "Not only did Alan serve as Ronald Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, but he served on the staff of the National Security Council, and had responsibilities for counter-terrorism and international affairs. No current candidate has such invaluable background to match today's enormous national security challenges," Stone said.

Fred Thompson — whose name was placed on the straw poll ballot even though he has not yet announced his candidacy — came in seventh with 1.4 percent. His supporters set up a booth next to the outdoor "We Need Alan Keyes for President" booth and shared the Keyes group's generator.