a good day to you. i'm chris janzen. if you love politics this is the right place. this finally the day for the straw poll in ames, iowa. we have live coverage. we've been listening to rick santorum speaking. he's the first of the candidates there to speak. although all of them are out on the stage just a short time ago. he looks very happy, very much like a candidate. but one who is clearly struggling to gain support and

money. that really is one of the keys here. for some of these candidates who are on the second and third tier, to show that they can bring some votes in to try and get some money that will allow them to continue their campaigns. nbc news political report o dominco is live in ames. give us a sense of what it's like there in ames so far. >> really, you know, this is kind of one of those events where, yeah, you've got all of these tents set up. you've got big tailgating party, really, chris. people are outside. you've got all kinds of, you know, signs being handed out. the bachmann camp registering people to vote. the pawlenty people set up after they bused in a whole bunch of their people. ron paul people out front, also with big signs and interesting rides and all that. so really a state fair environment. about 40 minutes knot in a little bit of a smaller place. we just started the speeches, as you saw, rick santorum just finished up.

real hear from ron paul and michele bachmann later. >> you never know how many people are going to show up. that's one of the keys. used to be when they started the straw poll you could bring people in from anywhere. now you have to be a resident of iowa. do you have an early sense if this is going to be a big year? are they going to get a lot of people in to vote? >> they're hoping for between 11,000 and 14,000 people. some people think that the higher the turnout, the better for bachmann. the lower the turnout may be better for pawlenty or someone else like that. it's difficult to say if that's actually le lly legitimate. but there are a ton of people here in this arena of 14,000 plus is what it holds. the lower two levels are getting pretty packed. there are a lot of people here. one of the things that you mentioned about the registering voters and trying to get people in here to the straw poll, for the first time the iowa republican party is registering people to vote at this event. you can -- anybody from iowa who lives here can come here but they're registering people to

vote. we heard the chairman of the iowa republican party say that they have outpaced democratic registration for 20 of the last 20 months, which is really significant because democrats had a huge registration advantage in 2008, which really helped. especially because of the long campaign which obama were able to register a lot of democratic voters. you had an election coming up. they have been able to do it. democrats still out numbered by 35,000 voter, but republicans are closing the gap and hoping this will be a tight swing state. >> we should say that the voice behind you is lieutenant governor kim reynolds. they're back pretty much on schedule now. coming up in about 15 minutes we should be hearing from congressman ron paul. but let's talk a little bit about -- a little bit more about how this works. obviously this is a non-binding poll. a lot of people say it means absolutely nothing. so why are so many people there and some of them spending millions of dollars on it? >> yeah, you know, i've seen a lot of people talk about whether

or not this means nothing, whether this means -- what does this mean? the thing is, some people have looked at the top line on this, that the number one person doesn't necessarily go on to win the caucuses. that's true. but there has never been, since 18980, since they've been doing this, there has never been somebody who has won the caucuses who hasn't finished at the top two at ames. it's a cess. we started to talk about that. if you finish third or below, there's really a very difficult chance to see that that person get the fund-raising, continue to get the buzz and momentum that they need to tell activists that they're a serious candidate and they can get something done at the caucuses. remember, caucuses are a whole lot different than regular primaries. i like to joke that a lot of people in the country are against voter intimidation. in iowa voter intimidation is encouraged because of the way the rules work at caucuses. >> that's why we love it so much and it's so much fun. thank you. good to see you. >> absolutely. thanks. let me bring in a democratic

strategist and republican strategist. good to see you both. matt, how are you doing today? >> doing great. how are you? >> i'm well. let me ask you what you think the significance of this is and do you think that this is money well spent when you look at the folks like the michele bachmanns who are spending millions of dollars there? >> i do. i do. i think today is the first day in the real campaign on who is going to be the next president of the united states. i think the republicans are poised to win because barack obama is failing in leadership. and with rick perry entering in the race today and pawlenty really having to do something, come in first or second, or really get whittled out of the race, this is really the beginning of the heart of the presidential campaign. i'm excited. people in iowa are excited. the republicans are registering voter which we heard in a report which they really need we want to put this in red. >> richard, you've been around for a little while.

you've seen a little more than a few of these iowa straw polls in the past. what does your gut tell you, by the end of the next, not necessarily three or four hours, but maybe the next three or four weeks post this. as we see some of the fund-raising and how it works out? how many of these candidates on the ballot right now might be gone? >> we should start by saying that this is ridiculously an undemocratic process, right? the supreme court outlawed a poll tax here. you have to pay $30 to be able to participate. so with that premise, and even though that makes a point about people finishing in the top two, there's no great correlation between people winning the straw poll and becoming the party nominee. that all said, yes, chris, i think your point suggests the answer which is there will be people who are you now living off the earth, newt gingrich, rick seasantorum and others who frankly, if they don't show better than expected and it's always a funny thing to play that expectations game. i think it's going to be very

hard, the press only has so many camera craws and reporters that they can -- even embeds that they can send out to follow these candidates. and i just think with a field this big and growing with rick per ry and sarah palin, i think if you're lower or behalf or beyond, i think it's going to be hard to sustain a candidacy from the standpoint of supporters, endorsement, and money, of course. >> let's talk a little bit more about money, matt. i'm looking at the most recent figures that have been filed. newt gingrich has $378,000 on hand. herman kaine has $2,000 on hand. rick santorum, $148,000 cash on hand. do you still see these three guys in the race come a month from now? >> i don't. i think today, as richard was saying, we're going to see some people drop out of the race based on their lack of performance. i'm taking my kids to the zoo here later today and i think i have more money on my wallet to spend on souvenirs than herman

kaine does. he's going to have to step it up. if he does not get into the first three spots here, i think the fund-raising is going to dry up. another guy that needs a good showing today to stay in this race i think is tim pawlenty. he's banked a lot on iowa. his fund-raising is down. if he comes in first or second he's going to see a big touch-up in campaign contributions and he needs it. he needs a shot in the rm right now. >> $2 million for cash on hand for tim pawlenty. he's spent almost $6 million in this cycle. one of the things we heard from some of the folks in rick perry's campaign, richard, is that he would like to, over the next couple of weeks, raise $10 billion. for someone like him, is that feasible? is it enough? >> we'll see. i mean, the story in the no, times this morning talked about all the morn any he has raised but it also said that most of it or a big chunk of it came from 200 people because in texas there are no limits on -- except your bank account -- to how much you can contribute in a gubernatorial campaign.

obviously as you referenced earlier, federal restrictions here. you can only give up to $2500. yeah, there are all these super committees and so forth. what you need to report is the money that gets put up on the board. that's what people like you, chris, and people in this profession look to at the end of each quarter to see how well a candidate is doing. and they've kind of set the bar pretty high. mitt romney, let's remind people, talked about a $40 million quarter. he came in at 18. 10 of that was on one day. there's an awful lot of talk and bluster. the dollars at the end of the day are frankly not as easy to come by as a lot of candidates and supporters would have you think. >> people who have the money, these big donors who, let's say, were some of the bundlers for president bush, a lot of them have been sitting on the sidelines. how long would you expect them to sit back before making some commitments? >> i really see a lot of the guys and gals jumping over the next few weeks. >> really, that quickly? >> yeah.

richard makes a great point, i think, with the difference between texas fund-raising and federal fund-raising. if rick perry can put together a quarter in the next couple of weeks, september 3rd is the next deadline, where he raises that type of money you're going to see this race go down to a romney-perry race. a lot of guys that have stayed -- and gals that have stayed on the sideline because they're not a rom my person are going to get behind rick perry and he's going to have the type of fund-raising that he needs. >> gentlemen, thanks so much. we appreciate your time. >> thank you. let's bring in matt strom, he shares the iowa state republican committee. how are you this afternoon? >> i'm doing great. just here in ames, iowa, with about 20,000 of my closest republican friends. >> 20,000. how many do you think at the end of the day will end up voting? >> you know, we still don't know. i know in 2007 we had about 14,000 votes pass. in 1999 there were about 20,000. i can tell you that we're getting reports that traffic is

backed up in all directions. it's been long waits to get in the arena. looks like we will have an incredible turnout. no matter who wins, it's a great warning shot to to barack obama that it isn't the iowa you knew in 2007 and 2008. >> i have read scores of articles about this just over the last couple of days. let me tell you three of the points that people keep hitting over and over and over again. one is that history tells us that this is not a test of a candidate's viability, that it really is about reporters frankly who don't have much to talk about in the dog days of summer when congress is gone and president goes on vacation. so they like it there. and, in fact, a number of people who have called for it to end. let me give you a chance to defend your straw poll. >> well, i think historically those candidates that didn't survive beyond the straw poll would question its importance. i know just four years ago governor tommy thompson from wisconsin and then senator sam brownback from kansas ceased

their candidacies not long after the straw poll. it focuses the campaign. it's not necessarily a predictor of what will happen. for your viewers who don't necessarily understand how the caucus process works, it's not like a primary where you can go in, take 10 or 15 hundred under the circumstances and vote. next february you're going to need leaders in 1800 precincts scattered around our state. what the straw poll does is give them an opportunity in these campaigns to find out who their best supporters and organizers are. because if you're going to get on a bus in the middle of summer and go three hours to ames and listen to political speeches you know somebody to count on as a campaign manager and candidate next february. >> mitt romney decided to sit it out even though he won four years ago. you have sarah palin not in the race but just happened to choose this weekend to come to iowa, diverting some attention, and then, of course, rick perry who made the decision on the same day as the straw poll to announce his candidacy in south carolina. what do you make of those

candidates? >> you know, i think that actually speaks to how relevant iowa is. if we didn't have this gathering here in ames today, would we have necessarily have seen sarah palin at the fair yesterday? would we necessarily have seen governor perry choose today to announce his candidacy? i think it does prove that iowa is not just a political center of the universe but iowa is driving the political question ba debate. and we will see him here tomorrow and maybe through the beginning of the week. >> and as a true politician, i have to ask you one last question. have you had any deep fried butter? >> i have not yet, but the reports from the fair grounds are. it tastes like buttery cinnamon roll. >> well, i might try that then. i wasn't going there, but what the heck. it's good to see you, thank you so much. iowa state republican committee chairman matt strawn. we have coverage continuing next there from the campus of the

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nine candidates are officially on the ballot. we are in the middle of six hours of voting, back with live coverage from the iowa straw poll. waiting to hear from ron paul who will be the next candidate to speak this afternoon. in the meantime, let's talk a little bit about what's already happened today. the already crowded field for the gop nomination grew by one more and it's a big name, texas governor rick perry. officially jumping into this race with this announcement in charleston, south carolina. >> it is time to get america working again. and that's why with the support

of my family and unwavering belief in the goodness of america, i declare to you today as a candidate for president of the united states. we do not have to accept our current circumstances. we will change them. we are americans. that's what we do. we roll up our sleeves. we go to work. we fix things. we -- we stand up and proudly, proudly proclaim that washington is not our caretaker. and we reject the state, that

margaret thatcher's words, she said a state that takes too much from us in order to do too much for us, we will not stand for that any longer. >> that was just a little bit of rick perry entering the race. a lot of argument being made that he poses perhaps the greatest threat to michele bachmann's candidacy. both of them being very conservative. we are going to hear from her a little bit later on. she's somebody with a lot at stake today in ames, iowa, and our special live coverage of the straw poll will continue next on msnbc with a little look at the iowa state fair. if you've recently signed up for medicare

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poll. you're looking right now at ron paul, always colorful, always interesting. hope for a top three here. take a listen. >> also to protect life, i mean all life. now, i want to tell a very short story, because time is short, about how i came to be very strong right to life. when i was in medical school in the 1950s it was a non-issue. it was assumed everybody was pro-life and abortions weren't to be done. in the 1960s, as i was a medical resident studying ob/gyn, the doctors in the medical centers were defined in doing abortions. this shook me up. one day i walked into an operating room and they did a hysterectomy, which is a sis sisterian section, lifted out a baby crying and breathing. they put it in a bucket in the

corner of the room and let it die and pretended nobody heard it. that was rathering disturbing. but as i walked out of that room, because i was a student and observer, i walked out of the room and walked down the corridor. and a baby about the same size was born prematurely. and all of a sudden 20 people, nurses and doctors, all rushing around to save the baby's life, which seemed very logical. but my conclusion that very day is you cannot have relative value for life and deal with that. we are not -- we cannot play god and make those decisions. all life is precious. if we are to defend liberty and allow people to spend the money as they want, go to the church that they want, and run their

lives as they please, you have to understand where that liberty and that life comes from. it does not come from the government. it comes from our creator. but then there's a lot of ways you can defend liberty. in many ways in a personal way and in an intellectual way, in a religious manner. but also as determined as i am to promote the cause of pro-life and making sure that governments don't slip off to -- you know, defeating life and taking life, one of the most atrocious positions this country could have, and that is where government will come along and with force the armed forces of the rls and take money from people who strongly believe in pro life and commit abortions

that. that should be reversed. but being pro-life can be extended and pro-liberty even into all ages. yes, it is good to be pro-life and we must be pro-life or you cannot be pro-liberty the way i understand it. but i also think it's being strongly pro-life if we work very hard to have a policy when those young people, those babies that are born, when they come of age, that their lives are just as precious and they are never required to fight in undeclared, unwinnable wars. >> ron paul going over the topic we heard so often from him in the debate the other night, which is stop the wars right now in iraq and afghanistan.

in his view, what a difference that would make in our economic recovery. let's bring in from ames political reporter for rolle call. that was one of the more bizarre stories i've ever heard out of ron paul, who frankly can go a little bit off the reservation. but somebody who in 1998 won the libertarian nomination for president and has always been somebody who has always been able to get financial supporters. let me ask you, though, about him and about people like rick santorum, who we just heard from a short time ago. they're not on a lot of people's radar. they're not doing well in the polls. and yet quietly they have been organizing, which is really what this straw poll is all about, could someone like one of these guys surprise? >> i think these guys could surprise, for people watching at home. if you're here at ames right now you will see people with ron

paul t-shirts. he is a well organized person. people around me are chanting paul, paul, paul, and the stadium is packed. the aisles were lined with people in red ron paul shirts. very organized. i think rick santorum, i haven't seen as large a presence here. he could still surprise. i talked to congressman gretchen barrett this week and he said it's to finish in the top five. there are flnine candidates in e ballot so those expectations aren't very high if you do the math. >> let me take a quick piece of sound from rick santorum who was just on the stage a short time ago. >> this campaign is about skravping and clawing for every little bit of recognition we can get. i had to wave my hand and ask for recognition. this is the little engine that could campaign. >> yeah, i guess their question is does he have enough steam to

keep going. you have to wonder whether a fifth place finish is enough to put some money in his coffers, which he desperately needs. >> yeah, a fifth place finish has never really propelled anyone to success in the iowa caucuses. if he does place fifth, he'll probably reconsider his fund-raising will dry up more. it will be really hard for him to continue. look, the ames straw poll game is all about expectations. when his supporter, the congressman from south carolina told me that, that's the expectation he's trying to set. in other words, a very low expectation for today's results. >> let's talk a little bit more about expectations overall, because you never know how many people are going to show up at these things. looks like it's a nice day out and we know there are a lot of candidates so there have been a lot of people on the ground trying to organize. does it seem like they've at least met or exceeded expectations in terms of just sheer numbers?

>> you know, it seems like the weather is really nice. it's not too hot. it's sunny but it's rather cool. iowa republicans, about 15,000 people would show up. i would guess it will probably be more than that. that's also because port first time iowa republicans are letting people do same day straw poll registration, which upped the numbers and probably help candidates like michele bachmann more than others. >> always good to have you on the program. thanks, shira. >> thanks for having me. we have a lot more to come from the iowa straw poll. we are more than halfway through the voting now. and again, nine candidates on the ballot. let's see who comes out on top. we're going to have coverage for you throughout the day right here on the place for politics, msnbc. well i always worry about what's in the food that i put on my children's plate. that's why we use all-white meat, breading that is whole grain with omega-3 and no preservatives. it is my goal to make the highest quality, best-tasting nugget on the market. i want consumers to go, "dang, that's a good nugget."

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our coverage of the iowa straw poll continuing throughout the day here on msnbc. crowds have been big. they have probably met or exceeded expectations. let's bring in erin mcpike whole a reporter for real clear politics who have been tweeting a lot of interesting stuff. erin, it's good to see you. i can't really sort of overstate how wild this process is. i mean, it's not like any kind of voting process that most people in america can really relate to. you've been tweeting about things like the lines in michele bachmann's tent. explain to us what you've been doing today and sort of what the people who are voting have been doing today. >> okay, so there are about 15,000 people here in iowa in ames for this straw poll. these eiowans have come from al over the state to decide who their candidate is. they're voting all day long.

there are two location where's they can go and cast their vote for the six, seven, or eight candidates who are on the straw poll in here competing. the candidates appeared on stage just a few -- about an hour ago or so. i've been going around outside to all of their tents and seeing the crowds. bachmann by far has the largest crowd here. tim pawlenty was on stage earlier talking to his supporters, trying to fire them up. he's done a lot of organizing for this straw poll. it looks at this point like he could come in third. his supporters just aren't as engaged the way that bachmann's are and ron paul's are. i actually met some people today from nebraska who came today because they just want to see this type of event. you don't have something like this in other states. so it's a really good political process kind of day. and people are just really sbreed to see who could be the next president. of course, mitt romney is not here today. rick perry is not here today. he's announcing for president in

south carolina. he did that just a few hours ago. so it's not a full sampling of the republican candidates but it's a good mix, and you get a good flavor of the republican caucuses here in iowa. >> yes, how i spent to summer vacation, i drove to ames, iowa, and i got to meet -- i think some people don't necessarily understand how accessible in this stage of the campaign a lot of these candidates are, which they won't be later on. but let's talk about the two guys you just mentioned because i know you wrote recently about mitt romney, for example. and so far he's gotten away pretty much unscathed in all of this. >> yeah, he -- in the debate he didn't get attacked very much. he's really just trying to stay out of the fray, stay above the fray. he's the front-runner. but that's why he's sort of not doing this iowa thing, this straw poll today, because he doesn't want to lose. and you know, he came in second in the iowa caucuses four years

ago to mike huckabee but he won the straw poll but then went on to lose the caucuses to mike huckabee. so he's trying to stay sort of out of these signs of organizational strength. iowa is not the best state for him. new hampshire is a better state for him. he was there yesterday. mitt romney is doing very well. he's going to be threatened some by rick perry who announced today. those two are probably going to be the two front-runners in the race as we go forward. >> we have the campaign embed with the romney campaign and he said at the press conference yesterday half of the questions were about rick perry and him getting into the race. i wonder what the buzz is there around iowa about the official entry of rick perry now. >> well, you're seeing lots of iowans in these original t-shirts that say americans for perry all over events. they've gone to bachmann events, romney events, pawlenty events.

you know, these straw poll events, they've been all over the state trying to drum up certain for for rick perry because he's getting in the race so late. as you may recall four years ago fred thompson got in the race late and flamed out quickly. rick perry has been governor of texas for almost 11 years now. it's a bit of a different situation. so there is a lot of buzz about rick perry. i've talked to a at of iowans who are looking forward to see him. he's going to be in the state tomorrow and monday and tuesday as well. he has a lot of ground to make up but there's an awful lot of interest in him. as you know, the republicans hasn't been all that exciting for a lot of voters and they're waiting for someone who has a big presence like rick perry. so people are really excited to hear him. now, as far as mitt romney is concerned, mitt romney had a news conference on wednesday here in iowa as well, and i asked him, with the numbers coming out of texas in terms of

job creation, which rick perry has led, how can mitt romney continue to say he's the best candidate for job. he said to me he spent a quarter in the private sector. i think we're going to see a really big debate p in the coming months between rick perry and mitt romney on job creation. one has spent a long time in government, that would be perry. the other has spent a long time in the private sector, and that would be mitt romney. and how those two are going to compete and who knows the economy better. that's going to be a really interesting debate to see. >> it is going to be fascinating. let me ask you finally, erin, before i let you go and check those lines once again. what are we looking for over the next several hours? what is going to happen next in ames? >> we're going to be seeing some more of these candidates speak on stage. we heard from rick santorum first. we've heard from ron paul. we're going to be hearing from tim pawlenty, michele bachmann as the day goes on. voting ends at 4:00 p.m. we probably won't see results

until about 6:00 p.m. on the east coast when they start to announce those announce the numbers. we're going to be looking for who wins, obviously. it's likely michele bachmann at this point. could be ron paul. we're going to see how tim pawlenty does. he might come in third. we want to gauge the levels of support they have. just how well these candidates do in relation to the results that came in four years ago. i think one of the interesting things going back to mitt romney and rick perry, there have been people running around the state for the last couple of weeks urging iowans to write in rick perry as a candidate even though he's not actually listed on the ballot. mitt romney is on the ballot but not the state competing but they're still trying to get some support. john mccain didn't compete in the straw poll four years ago and got 101 votes. the romney campaign says their goal is just to get 102 votes and they beat that level. i think what we want to see is how many people write in rick perry versus how many people still vote for mitt romney since neither of them are here.

that's going to be a huge contest going forward. we also want to see how well or how poorly tim pawlenty does as he's been lowering expectations. how long he can stay in the race. a lot of talk, does tim pawlenty have any momentum going forward? he might not. wee look further down to see how candidates like rick santorum do and will he want to drop out ft race after this because he just doesn't have momentum. those are the things we will be looking for today. >> big day in ames, iowa. thank you so much, erin. great to see you. and great to get your tweets. the iowa straw poll voting continues until 5:00 eastern time. and then it's going to take a about an hour to do those calculations. so we've got coverage all throughout the afternoon. we have our correspondents there. we're going to have complete and total coverage, so keep it right here all day long on msnbc. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now.

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we're going to have the same core faith so they protect their sovereign soil as well. but the second most sovereign thing we have is our health. our bodies, our health, the management of it has been nationalized by president obama in obama care. he nationalized your skin and everything inside it. and he put a 10% tax on the outside if you go to the tanning salon. >> we are hearing the same things, the republicans certainly have their talking points. that is iowa congressman steve king. he is not running. he's there because he is a congressman from iowa. we are wait for ex-minnesota governor tim pawlenty to begin his straw poll speech. that should begin in about five minutes. this is potentially a pivotal day for him. he has poured loads of cash into

his straw poll and it's important for him. >> the ames straw poll, it's going to have a lot to say about who the candidates are who are going to be going forward as the president of the united states. and we need you to come by even for an hour or less. >> andrew rafferty is the nbc news campaign embed with the pawlenty campaign who is joining me now, as you can see, from ames. tell me a little bit about his ames operation and his strategy. >> yeah, well, in moments you're going to see a sea of green shirts. they're standing off to my left right now. they're going to come into this coliseum for when governor pawlenty speaks. i was walking in with them. they were chanting his name. it was a level of buzz that i have not seen at any other campaign stops that i've been to in iowa the past two weeks. his strategy really has been hinging on this day. of course, his leader tons ground here, sarah huckabee sanders who did so well helping her father come in second in the

straw poll in 2008. so his strategy has been building up to this day, a matter of getting people here, setting up buses, enticing them with free ice cream, free famous dave's barbecue, a concert, much like all these other candidates. you talk about any of their volunteers, what you're going to le hear is organized, they are very organized, ready for this day. they are hoping it's going to pay off. >> i guess the question is, is it, and we don't know. we've still got more than an hour of voting yet. we were just talking to erin mcpike, we've been talking to other reporters throughout the day. sort of going around to the various tents and checking things out. they don't sense the same level of enthusiasm at the pawlenty tent as they do, say, at michele bachmann. do you get any sense within the campaign that they're worried right now? >> well, i just spoke to one of their campaign -- the campaign manager and he said this is what they expected. now, whether or not this is a

little bit lower, higher, it's hard to tell because it's ames straw poll is such a unique process. it's really hard to gauge how people are doing, where people stand, but comparatively, the pawlenty people are -- they're organized, they are here. they're trying to make themselves known. but they still, you can tell today, just like the past few weeks of the campaign, they are trying to get out of that michele bachmann shadow. and it's not clear if they're able to do that yet. >> we're seeing all those folks that you were talking about with those green shirts, and there they are, filing into that auditorium. is there a sense of make or break, that this is a pivotal moment for the campaign? >> oh, abs luoluteabsolutely. i think tim pawlenty has a lot more to lose today than to gain. if he wins this he's still winning living in debt over rick perry. bachmann is certainly not going to bomb here. she's going to do well even if it's not a first place. you know, if he comes in third,

really the question is where is the money going to come from even if he wants to go forward. so it really is a make or break day for him. and the organization, the money he's put into that, he acknowledges the campaign acknowledges how important this day is for them as well. >> all right. thanks so much, andrew rafferty with the campaign. there you see him standing behind the curtain. hoping the curtain, they're going to be introducing him, so we'll take a quick break, come back with more. special live coverage of the iowa straw poll continues after this. it's been a good year for chevy. and not because silverado's the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size truck on the road or because heavy duty made motor trend's 2011 truck of the year. no, it was good because you told us so. consider this a thank-you. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. right now, combine the all-star edition discount with other offers for a total value of $6,000. our greatest model year yet is wrapping up.

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tim pawlenty just getting started with his speech there at the iowa straw poll. arguably the candidate with the most at stake here. highest expectations great difficulty really catching fire. his campaign. let's listen in. >> america's greatness and bring them forward to the challenges of our time. and here they are.

let's be a nation that puts its trust in god first and foremost. number two, we know this, don't we? we can't spend more than we take in. we also know, as we watch him going across the world, apologizing for america, denying or ignoring america's exceptional itsing, we need to make sure the president and when i'm president i will do this, we will maintain the peace by maintaining our strength. >> we are going to send the message from iowa here today all across this great country in and when it is what we hear as i travel from hard working to conservative americans who are experiencing the heavy handed

economic results of barack obama and the message for him today from us and from all across this country is mr. president, get the government off of our backs! let's get a start on that agenda. first, mr. president, repeal obama care. number two, mr. president, please come before the country and tell us why you oppose a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. we want it and the country deserves it and you should support it. i also want to share with you and many other republican candidates at this event today and otherwise in the race they are wonderful people that got a

great vision for america that they are sharing with you as best they can here today but i want to share with you one perspective that i think is important. deciding who you are going to support in this race. many of the republican candidates for are going to say many of the same things. they will say look, i'm the one that will can you government spending. they will say i'm the one who will reduce taxes. they will say i'm the one who will stand for the cause of life. they will say i'm the one who will stand for traditional marriage. they will say i'm the one who will do health care reform the right way and so on. but as you know, as we have seen with barack obama, just saying the words isn't enough. he came through iowa with the great speeches. he came through iowa with the big rhetoric. but now we know this, don't we? his rhetoric doesn't put gas in our car, does it? barack obama's rhetoric doesn't pay our mortgage, does it? and barack obama's rhetoric doesn't pay our health care

premiums, does it? and barack obama's rhetoric doesn't put our kids through college and pay the tuition, does it? and barack obama's rhetoric doesn't give us a job, does it? is it time for barack obama to go? >> tim pawlenty, who has had some real trouble in the polls, he's hoping he can have a strong showing here today that it could put him back into this race but it's going to be a tough slot for him. we will know in about three hours from now the results of the straw poll, the voting continues. our coverage continues after this.