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INDIANOLA — At his 32nd annual Steak Fry fundraiser, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) was cheered by an enthusiastic crowd of supporters when he declared that a health care reform bill would pass both houses of Congress “by Christmas,” and that it would include a government-run, not-for-profit health insurance plan.

In this week’s Cityview, Civic Skinny claims that U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell did not attend Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual Steak Fry fundraiser last weekend:
The first bunch of names: Barack [...]

“No politician, we repeat NO politician, just happens to go to Iowa,” writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. “Every one of them knows that an Iowa trip means the press will float the idea of a presidential run.”

So it is with Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, this year’s guest speaker at Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual Steak Fry.

It was nearly down to the wire, but Sen. Tom Harkin finally announced the keynote speaker at this year’s Harkin Steak Fry fundraiser in Indianola:
Brian Schweitzer, the Montana rancher-turned-Governor, will be our special guest at the 31st Annual Harkin Steak Fry.  Governor Schweitzer, who electrified the Democratic National Convention last week in Denver, won election [...]

Not all of the people at the Harkin Steak Fry were on stage with Senator Tom and Ruth Harkin.  There were about 12,000 others wandering around eating steak (or chicken), waving signs, lots of waving signs, and cheering for candidates.

In these videos you’ll witness the sign wars, meet the people who drove across the state [...]

Six democratic candidates spoke at the Harkin Steak Fry fundraiser this year in Indianola.  Each candidate was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin. 

Click here to see video reactions from the Iowa audience.

In reverse order, excerpts from the candidates’ speeches are below the fold in this post.

– You just have to feel for former Gov. Tom Vilsack. Well, no, you don't, but there he is at this Harkin Steak Fry Sunday with no major role, sitting to the side in kind-of VIP section. Earler in the day, I overheard some reporters talking to this one-time presidential candidate about of all things … last night's Nebraska [...]

Former state representative and gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon watches his favorite candidate, John Edwards.

Iowa Independent's John Deeth (wearing his trademark raspberry beret) gets the spin from Obama advisor David Axelrod.

To follow our coverage of Sunday’s Harkin Steak Fry as it unfolded, click here.

INDIANOLA – Hillary pulled out the best line of the day.

Obama’s team orchestrated some powerhouse optics.

Edwards did that lawyer-leaping-from-the-John-Grisham-novel-to-face-the-forces-of capitalism’s-excesses-for-those-Americans-bogged-in-the-backwater thing,

The candidates had their moments, some big ones at that.

But the win at U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin’s Steak Fry, the trophy on [...]