The following piece is published on Iowa Independent as well as OffTheBus.
Fred Thompson may have gotten more laughs during his speech, but surging Mike Huckabee received the only genuine standing ovation of the night when six Republican presidential candidates spoke to attendees at the annual Reagan Dinner at Hy-Vee Hall in downtown Des Moines.
The $100-a-plate Reagan Dinner the last of three big events leading up to the caucuses, provided a rare chance for party activists to hear six of nine presidential candidates pitch their conservative credentials.
Thompson and Huckabee were the only top-tier candidates to attend; also speaking at the event were Duncan Hunter, John Cox, Tom Tancredo, and Ron Paul. Mitt Romney, who leads polls in the state, sent his wife Ann to address the crowd. Rudy Giuliani and John McCain campaigned outside of the state.
The event is important because it draws attendees from across the state, party activists who will play strong roles in their local caucuses. "Every person in this audience is a leader in their local precinct," said Ted Sporer, chairman of the Polk County Republican Party. "These are people whose voices will be heard in their caucuses and so it's important to gain their support."
Steve Roberts, a Des Moines attorney who sits on the Republican National Committee, said Huckabee turned in the strongest performance of the night and continues to demonstrate his skills as a seasoned speaker. He said Thompson's folksy speaking style was also appealing to the crowd.
"I think Huckabee and Thompson are the two candidates here who were helped the most tonight," Roberts said.
Indeed, the crowd who dined on chicken and potatoes on Saturday seemed mostly subdued during the speeches until Huckabee took the stage. He told the crowd that he had spent the morning hunting pheasants (a nod to gun owners in the audience), that our battle with Islamic fundamentalists is the most important national security issue in the history of the country, and that protecting the unborn will be a top priority of a Huckabee administration. He criticized the federal tax code, worried aloud about the loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States, and said he wants to end the country's energy dependency on the Middle East.
"I want to make sure this country is as good to future generations as it has been to me," he said.
Huckabee was followed by Thompson, who opened his speech with the same joke about his disappearing hair line that he used when he declared his candidacy in Des Moines in September. Thompson's address covered many of the same topics as the other candidates: the Middle East, immigration, federalism and abortion.
He also reminded attendees that his conservative values have remained consistent and that he's maintained a 100 percent approval rating from pro-life groups throughout his career. a jab at the voting records of Romney and Giuliani. "I was a conservative yesterday, I am a conservative today, and I will be a conservative tomorrow," he said.
"It's our obligation to take the greatest country in the history of the world and make sure it stays that way," he said.
One of the most talked about moments of the evening came during an address by Chicago businessman John Cox, who all but conceded defeat in the caucuses. Cox has been unable to gain any significant support in the state, and joked with the crowd that he has about as much of a chance to win the presidency next year as the Chicago Cubs have of winning the World Series. He blamed the national media for ignoring his campaign and said that he plans to return to Chicago and start a political action committee.