Alexis and I are just back from Iowa, where Senator Joni Ernst this weekend hosted her first annual Roast and Ride. The event brought seven presidential hopefuls and hundreds of voters to Boone, Iowa, many of them, including Ernst, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, and Texas governor Rick Perry, on Harleys.

A few observations: Walker is the front-runner right now, but his position is by no means secure. It helps that he’s from nearby Wisconsin, so voters know him, that he spent seven years of his childhood in Iowa, which he mentions a lot, and that he’s a good temperamental fit for the state. He still doesn’t give a barnburner of a speech, and if he has a vision to convey, it’s doing in Washington what he did in Wisconsin. That’s not really a vision, and it can get him into trouble, as we’ve seen.

The candidates who do have a vision got a good reception this weekend. Carly Fiorina talks about shaping policy in a way that allows people to unlock their potential, mostly by getting the government off their backs. Iowans like it.

Marco Rubio talks about a “new American century” and about implementing policies that will restore American leadership. I was surprised, at a separate Rubio event in Ames, not only to find more Iowans than reporters but a genuinely big and enthusiastic crowd. Rubio hasn’t spent much time in Iowa. The voters there don’t know him, but they’re obviously interested in him.

Lindsey Graham is going to be a fun candidate to watch. He’s funny — the funniest — and has a way of distilling his views into blunt aphorisms that go over well. This weekend, he told the crowd, “We have too much debt, too many terrorists, and I want to reduce both.” He may not become the nominee, but I think Republican primary voters are going to like the world according to Lindsey Graham.

Finally, Rich mentioned Ted Cruz as the primary threat to Walker, and vice versa. Cruz didn’t show up for this weekend’s event, but I would’ve been interested to see him, and look forward to doing so in the future. I wonder how he goes over in the state temperamentally, and how much his opposition to ethanol subsidies will matter.