8 takeaways from Iowa's Lincoln Dinner, its aftermath

The Des Moines Register published a curtain-raiser last week that listed eight things to watch for at the Iowa GOP's Lincoln Dinner, which featured Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, Donald Trump and Scott Walker.

Here's the outcome:

1. How were the party rooms with treats?

After the speeches, receptions allowed Iowans to free-flow from room to room, mingling with the politicos of their choosing.

One of the longest lines was for Iowans waiting to meet Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, who burned spiced-apple-scented candles in her hospitality room. Walker, the Wisconsin governor, wore an apron and personally served up Wisconsin cheese curds until 10 p.m., the kind of one-on-one "retail" politicking viewed as central to winning the caucuses.

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Right across the hall was the reception for Bush, the former Florida governor, whose line stretched into the main hallway for much of the night. His son Jeb Bush Jr. worked the room, while clipboard-carrying aides scooped up Iowans' email addresses and cell phone numbers.

Jindal, governor of Louisiana, featured a Mardi Gras theme and stayed until 10:45 p.m., giving out "Duck Dyansty" Willie Robertson bandanas "so everybody can look like a homegrown Louisiana conservative," an aide said.

2. Were the speeches short?

The sound technicians pulled the plug on the microphone the second each presidential contender hit the 10-minute mark in his or her speech.

The brevity forced the contenders to be succinct and therefore more engaging, some audience members remarked. But it also led to some awkwardness. Santorum, the 2012 GOP caucus winner and first speaker, was rolling through his big finale when the audio abruptly went dead.

It served as a lesson to the rest of the contenders that the enforcer, Des Moines-based strategist Tim Albrecht, wasn't kidding when he warned each team ahead of time that there would be no exceptions to the rules set by Iowa GOP officials.

At the one-minute mark, a green light turned yellow. After the final seconds expired, a red light flashed, the mic went mute and music jumped from the speakers to help smooth over the sudden silence.

"The event was fair to the speakers in that everyone had the exact same set of rules," Albrecht said, "and fair to the audience in that it wasn't one second longer than it needed to be."

3. With the Republican Party of Iowa's straw poll 85 days away, did any candidate demonstrate willingness to participate?

State party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann personally handed straw poll invitations to presidential contenders he bumped into backstage or in their hospitality suites and will mail the rest.

"We had some very positive reactions," said Kaufmann, who said there are signs at least seven contenders, from the top tier in polling and the bottom, will compete.

Iowa GOP officials have not yet decided whether to invite Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is weighing a presidential bid but has yet to put noticeable feelers into Iowa.

4. Who were Iowa Republicans surprised by?

The big story was the continued emergence of Fiorina as a crowd-pleaser whom Iowa Republicans say they take seriously.

West Des Moines Republican Cathy Richards, a retired marketing executive, has seen Fiorina six or seven times now and was still caught up by her stump speech Saturday night.

"She left us wanting more," Richards said.

That feeling was reinforced by one of the most striking moments of the night, when Fiorina broke the 10-minute limit and her mic was cut off mid-sentence. A moan of disappointment rippled through the audience, then a few dozen people gave Fiorina the sole standing ovation of the evening.

Joe Comes, a 46-year-old Des Moines Republican who owns an investment company, told the Register: "As a businessman, I'm looking for someone who's got business intellect and understands a budget and can run this place somewhat like a corporation. I'm tired of politicians. I want a president who has hired people and signed paychecks."

5. How was the reaction to Bush?

Polling shows he's struggling in Iowa, coming in seventh among 14 contenders tested in a Quinnipiac University survey released earlier this month. Then the news broke last week that he intends to skip the Iowa Straw Poll. And he made headlines throughout last week for changing answers on whether he would have invaded Iraq in 2003.

But the Lincoln Dinner audience had an establishment leaning, which fits Bush's profile.

"Jeb Bush, I like him," said Deng Tiir, a 63-year-old Des Moines resident who works in the city's public schools. "I like his foreign policies." Tiir was also impressed by Fiorina and Pataki, the former New York governor.

Kathy Spurlock, a retired Urbandale Republican who cares for her grandchildren, thought Bush "did quite well."

"I heard a lot of people say, 'I went in thinking I didn't like him, but I came out liking him,' " she said.

Earlier in the day, Bush said he'll play hard in the Iowa caucuses, if he ends up officially declaring a presidential bid. "It's my intention to win, period," Bush told reporters in Iowa City. "I'm a competitive person. My hope is to win any place where I'm competing."

6. Did the four absentee 2016'ers miss out?

Four contenders skipped this one:

• New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
• Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz
• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
• Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio

"I can make the argument that because Rubio and Cruz and Christie are all brand-new candidates who have never run in Iowa before, they missed an opportunity to introduce themselves," Kaufmann said. "And Huckabee missed an opportunity to remind us why he won the caucuses in 2008.

"But I don't believe it was a make or break. There are going to be a lot of these cattle calls."

7. Did any contenders dig into GOP rivals who are perceived threats?

Instead of ganging up on Walker, who was 8 percentage points ahead of his nearest competitors in Iowa in a recent Quinnipiac poll, the contestants needled Bush, the national frontrunner.

Paul, the Kentucky U.S. senator, clubbed Bush for his answers on whether he would have authorized military force in Iraq like his brother (President George W. Bush) did, knowing what we know now.

"He fumbled around," Paul told the Lincoln Dinner audience, "and I think he had four or five different questions on four or five different days. But one of his responses was a very defensive response: 'Well, that's hypothetical. What would that have to do with this election?' I think the question has everything to do with this election."

(Bush ultimately said that, given the facts known today, he would not have invaded.)

Graham, the South Carolina U.S. senator, countered that Republicans shouldn't be knotted up over what President Bush did. Instead, blame President Barack Obama for failing to leave behind enough troops to hold the gains the U.S. made there, he said.

Perry, the former Texas governor, brought up his distaste for common core education standards, knowing they're unpopular with some Iowa conservatives — and that Bush favors higher education standards.

Graham artfully left it to the audience to interpret whether his compliment of retired neurosurgeon Carson was flattering or back-handed. "Isn't he too smart to be president?" Graham asked.

8. Who stuck with religious conservative messages in front of a more diverse GOP audience?

Jindal, who is Catholic, made the most mentions of religion. He stuck with Christian conservative themes he has used in speeches at events hosted by evangelical groups, including his objection to government discrimination against business owners for their religious beliefs.

Carson, a Seventh-day Adventist, also stressed faith, saying: "We must stop being afraid of being people of faith and having faith in God. This is a Judeo-Christian nation."

Fiorina, who was raised Episcopalian, wore an oversized cross necklace and repeated a regular line about how her mother told her that "what you are is God's gift to you. What you make of yourself is your gift to God."

Bush, who is Catholic, hasn't given speeches to religious groups in Iowa. He talked about how as Florida governor he protected "the most vulnerable in society," including the unborn, the disabled and the frail.