Iowans

Struggling to ignite his sputtering presidential campaign, Rick Perry is aggressively courting Iowa's socially conservative voters over the airwaves and, in a 44-city, 14-day bus trip beginning Wednesday, hopes to make the pitch personal. The tour, full of stops on Main Streets and at the state's ubiquitous Pizza Ranch restaurants, is the kind of politicking that Iowans expect and in which Perry excels. The move follows a sharp shift in Perry's central campaign argument, from one focused on jobs to an effort overtly keyed to evangelical voters.

Herman Cain may have left the Republican presidential campaign but his candidacy will live on in Iowa the night of the Jan. 3 caucuses. Cain's name remains on the Iowa ballot -- the caucus vote is actually a non-binding presidential poll -- because he dropped out after the list was finalized by state GOP officials. This isn't the first time that's happened. Duncan Hunter was similarly listed during the 2008 caucuses, even though he too had ended his campaign before Iowans opening the voting for the presidential nomination.  The Republican congressman from California wound up with just over 500 caucus votes (out of nearly 120,000 cast statewide)

Now even Rick Perry's making fun of Rick Perry. It's come to that. Perry is scheduled to be on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno Thursday evening, but Iowa viewers watching will also see an ad in which the Texas governor pokes fun at his, uh, you know, inability to remember stuff. In the ad, Perry talks about the his notorious “brain freeze” last month, when, during a debate, he forgot the name of a third Cabinet agency he would eliminate as president. Then, flustered, he soon forgot the second one. “You know, we've all lost our train of thought before, but not many have done it on national TV. If you want a slick debater, I'm obviously not your guy,"  Perry says in the spot, which will air only this evening in Iowa.

Speaking to thousands of Iowans in a telephone town hall, Mitt Romney pledged Wednesday to be a visible presence in the state in the weeks leading up to its first-in-the-nation presidential voting contest. "You'll be seeing more and more of me as we get closer to the caucuses," he said. "Hopefully I'll be able to convince almost all of you to go to caucus. I really do want your support. " The former Massachusetts governor, who had irked some Iowans by paying little attention to the state for much of the year, is clearly stepping up his efforts here.

The GOP candidates who are struggling to make a mark in the presidential race gathered in Des Moines on Friday night to press their case before committed Republican activists who will decide their fate in 60 days, when Iowans hold their first-in-the-nation caucuses. But unlike most times the candidates appear together, there was little bickering. While a few made veiled swipes at their rivals, they reserved their harshest words for President Obama, saying he has made the recession worse, has a dangerous foreign policy and that he is, essentially, in over his head.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry opened an Iowa campaign swing tonight by ramping up his attacks on Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney's record as Massachusetts governor, calling his "misguided health mandates" a burden to taxpayers nationwide. "It's cost taxpayers in Iowa and across this country nearly $4 billion in Medicaid and Medicare costs," Perry told a few hundred party faithful at a roast-beef-and-mashed-potatoes dinner in Greene County.  "This isn't just about the state of Massachusetts and the cost to them directly.

Sarah Palin is out with a slickly produced video that captures her impromptu visit to the Iowa State Fair last week in the most positive light possible. And the release is certain to fire up yet another round of will-she-or-won't-she speculation about a presidential bid. Unlike "The Undefeated," the hagiographical film released this summer that was produced outside Palin's circle, the new spot, dubbed "Iowa Passion" is a product of Palin's political action committee, making it perhaps the biggest tease yet about a possible run. ( Watch video below .)

Michele Bachmann captured the famed Iowa Straw Poll in Ames Saturday, reaching a high-profile benchmark in her meteoric rise to a top-tier presidential candidate. Bachmann made history, as well, becoming the first woman to win the event. She received 4,823 votes out of the almost 17,000 votes cast. The turnout was a significant leap over four years ago but didn't approach the record of more than 23,000 votes cast back in 1999. The Minnesota congresswoman narrowly outpaced libertarian Rep. Ron Paul, who had 4,671 votes, and whose red t-shirt-wearing supporters flooded the campus of Iowa State University, and packed the arena when Paul spoke.

Sarah Palin's flirtation with a presidential run is back in full swing. The former Alaska governor will headline a major "tea party" gathering in Iowa in September, just as the Republican nomination fight begins in earnest. Tea Party of America Wednesday announced Palin's participation in the Sept. 3 "Restoring America" event. "We don't need a 'fundamental transformation' of America. We need a restoration of all that is good and strong and free," Palin says in the group's news release.