Monday, May 12, 2008
Alan Keyes strikes a chord with Iowa voters.
Jan 25, 2000 | When he's not running for public office, Alan Keyes is the host of a syndicated AM radio program called "The Alan Keyes Show -- America's wake-up call." Sure, it's a puffed-up title made for talk-radio consumption, but it could be the slogan for Keyes' presidential campaign, which received a bounce after a third-place finish in Monday's GOP Iowa caucuses.
The Harvard grad and former U.S. Senate candidate from Maryland is distinguished by his brimstone campaign schtick, preaching about American moral decay like a fire-breathing Cassandra of the apocalypse. But his third-place vote in Iowa could be proof that some people are beginning to listen.
Certainly Keyes views it that way. He sees himself as the national moral alarm clock, blasting John McCain for his mock endorsement of the rock band Nine Inch Nails and shaming voters for not protecting the right to life for unborn children. "I'm voting for what I think is morally right," Greg Isenberger, 54, a born-again Christian from Baxter who works as a warehouseman, told the Des Moines Register. "What this nation needs is a return to morals, and that's what Alan talks about."
Of course, the fact that Keyes' third-place finish -- CNN was reporting just after polls closed that Keyes had received 14 percent of the vote -- is big news coming out of Iowa is a symptom of the media's boredom with the race to date. But Keyes is enjoying his moment in the sun. On Sunday night he visited 801 Grand, the Iowa steakhouse favored by interloping media and political types, and careened through the restaurant, a TV camera and spotlight clearing the way for him while his wife and children followed behind. He passed the ABC table where George Stephanopoulos and Jackie Judd sat, and stopped to say hi to his former Harvard roommate, the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol.
Earlier that night, Keyes called the bluff of lefty guerrilla journalist Michael Moore, who promised to endorse any candidate who agreed to "surf" on the hands of about 50 teenagers huddled around, as Rage Against the Machine blared from nearby speakers. (If Keyes hates Nine Inch Nails, one must ask what he thinks about Rage's pro-Zapatista lyrics, and their headlining appearance at a recent Mumia Abu Jamal benefit.)
But Keyes' impromptu plunge into the crowd underscored the fact that he's fearless and feeling good. Now he's hoping to be the surprise breakout candidate as the campaign heads to New Hampshire. "It will provide us with a very good basis for moving forward and energizing our people," a beaming Keyes said before the vote about a possible third-place finish. "I think we'll be pretty happy with that result."
When asked if the Iowa bronze medal would translate into more media coverage of him, he said, "I guess you'd have to ask them that. Though I certainly seem to be coming in for more attention."
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