Romney Packs Diner to Overflowing in Cedar Falls After Long Absence From Area

A small space and growing caucus fever made for a cramped meet-and-greet with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at J's Homestyle Cooking in Cedar Falls Thursday, with about 100 people - many of them media with giant cameras - packed into the diner and just as many shuffled into a white overflow tent set up just outside.

The restaurant was filled to capacity by 7:30 a.m., some who'd been relegated to the tent said, well before the candidate arrived after 8 a.m.

The energy was high at the event, however. Warm weather kept many in the tent long after Romney's initial appearance there - he stopped in for a few words and handshakes before heading through the media gauntlet into the restaurant, where he made a short speech before working the room.

His speech - and his introduction - quickly hit on a number of points that would potentially resonate with conservative voters. Former Utah governor Mike Leavitt introduced Romney with a story about asking the candidate to run the Salt Lake Olympics, where Romney helped turn a potential funding deficit into a surplus, Leavitt said, by focusing on what was needed, not what was wanted.

Ann Romney, Mitt Romney's wife, also spoke, describing her husband as a family man, discussing their long relationship and children and grandchildren.

Finally - economic credentials and family values cemented - Romney got up and waxed patriotic, quoting extensively from the song America the Beautiful, giving a shout-out to Iowa's "amber waves of grain," as well as congratulating veterans in the room.

"We're the only people in the world who put their hand over their heart during the playing of the national anthem," he said. "We're a patriotic people."

After a few more minutes talking about balancing the budget and repealing "Obama-care," Romney moved around the room, trading handshakes, questions and photos with the supporters, curious and those still trying to make up their minds on who to support at next Tuesday's caucus.

The stop, which quickly summed up his campaign's selling points in a fast, high energy event, illustrated the quick nature of this bus tour - almost the only campaigning he's done in Iowa - as a last minute push to rally Republicans to his cause.

on a small ground staff and organization and support he garnered four years ago while campaigning in the last caucus.

But even front runners need to spend time on the ground to win credibility with Iowa voters, who have grown accustumed to vetting their candidates face-to-face.

Barbara Hatinger, 61, a small businesswoman from Cedar Falls, said she's seen nearly all the candidates in person. She's still deciding who to caucus for.

"Frankly, I'm still on the fence, I'm not sure who I'll support," she said. "We've got to have a nominee that can beat Obama."

Many, like her, said they were still trying to make up their minds. Others in the crowd were clearly Romney enthusiasts.

"I think he's a really good candidate," Maureen Gotz, 69, a retiree from Cedar Falls. "I think he's an honest family-type person."