Bachmann’s charitable words were the latest in a long line of glowing public comments that the two potential Republican rivals have showered upon each other since 2008.
But a personal relationship between the conservative female leaders has, in fact, been nonexistent for the past 16 months, as aides from Bachmann’s camps have privately -- and sometimes publicly -- disparaged Palin to an extent that has caused growing exasperation in Palin world. That behind-the-scenes rancor is now boiling over as the former Alaska governor inches closer to a presidential run.
Some of the volunteers who have been organizing here in the nation’s first voting state for a potential Palin campaign have been particularly miffed by what they describe as a concerted effort from the Bachmann camp to spread rumors that Palin has already decided not to run and will eventually endorse the Minnesotan.
“It is so pervasive and so continuous that it can’t be rogue people doing it without the understanding and encouragement from the candidate herself,” a Palin supporter in Iowa told RCP. “The entire Bachmann team has gone around the state saying Palin is a lightweight and a quitter and saying that Sarah’s about to endorse Michele. Bachmann’s campaign is radioactively dirty. They are shameless.”
In May, Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson -- who went on to become Bachmann’s point person here -- told Politico that Palin “doesn’t seem like a credible candidate.” And in some of his first public comments in June as Bachmann’s soon-to-be campaign manager, Ed Rollins told The Daily Caller that Palin “has not been serious over the last couple of years.
Popular item served up to attendees at Tim Pawlenty’s and Ron Paul’s food tents. Margie and Larry Nelson, of West Des Moines, had catered Famous Dave’s Texas beef brisket at Pawlenty’s tent. The menu also included Georgia chopped pork, beans, coleslaw and Dairy Queen Blizzards.
Margie and Larry Nelson dined on catered barbecue at candidate Tim Pawlenty's food tent.
The two said it was their first straw poll. One draw, Larry Nelson said, was to see Gov. Mike Huckabee play the guitar.
“It’s kind of fascinating,” Margie Nelson said of the atmosphere.
“It’s festive,” Larry Nelson said. “It’s amazing the number of buses.”
Godfather’s Pizza slices fed supporters at GOP candidate and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain’s tent, where red, white and blue paper lanterns and pieces of white fence decorated the area. Kids hopped on an inflatable and people tossed bags through Republican-painted boards.
Mike Rogers, a Cain supporter on his second piece of pizza, said each candidate has a “dog and pony show,” but the atmosphere at Cain’s tent was “good stuff for good people.”
At Ron Paul’s tent, entertainment varied from acoustic to big band, where first-time straw poll attendees Eric Peregine, of Clarinda, Iowa, and Brandon Baragas and Jimmy Doherty, both of Omaha, Neb., watched. The size of the event was their biggest surprise.
“Just the grand scale of it — it’s huge,” Doherty said.
The inflatable entertainment at Paul’s tents also had a message: at the top of the slide a sign called it “The Sliding Dollar.”
Corn on the cob and barbecue were some of the offerings at candidate Ron Paul's food tent.
In the Paul food tent, Iowans got a familiar treat with sweet corn on the cob, pulled pork sandwiches and potato salad.
Nicole Balvanz, of Ames, said she’d never had that type of potato salad before — with chives, she said — or been to the straw poll. Seeing the big names in a small city is a unique experience, she said.
Matthew Balvanz, a return straw poll attendee, said the atmosphere was similar to eight years ago.
Heavy traffic around Michele Bachmann’s tent lead to inside entertainment for those whose blue-tipped fingers indicated they’d cast their vote in the straw poll. Randy Travis is the big name for Bachmann’s stage, but Christian music groups took the stage before noon.
Sheryl Bishop, of Moravia, a Bachmann supporter, was impressed with the entertainment selection.
“(I’m) thankful she’s not afraid to have Christian entertainment,” she said.
Two musical performers, Casey Johnston, of Cedar Rapids group 33 A.D., and Luke Decker, a member of the Living Word Church praise team in Spencer, said they came to perform after Bachmann visited their churches and invited the groups.
Vaness Oden, of Exline, said many at the family-friendly straw poll wore different hats supporting different ideas. Oden, who donned a bright orange National Rifle Association hat, said it was consistent with the Christian theme of acceptance.
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