A couple of quotes about Perry jumped out at me from Costa’s story from Waterloo:
“It was kind of like dad was coming home,” chuckles Reed Bannon, a Waterloo businessman. “Once he got up there, everyone kind of knew it was time to sit up, shut up, stop slouching, and eat your vegetables.”’
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Jim Mudd, a businessman from nearby Cedar Falls, sat next to Perry during dinner. He had never met the governor before, nor did he expect Perry to take a seat beside him. But he came away impressed. “He’s a strong dog,” Mudd says. “From what I can sense, he’s the strongest candidate.”