Aides to Arizona Senator John McCain deny an “underground” campaign organization in Iowa, but there is a “hardy band” of Iowans who support McCain’s bid for the White House. In Monday night’s debate, about 125 people in the audience were McCain fans who got their tickets from Des Moines lawyer Joan Bolin, McCain’s top fan in Iowa. She hosted McCain in her home last April, when about 50 people gathered to meet him.Bolin’s name may be familiar, as she was the Republican candidate for State Treasurer last year.That’s the main reason McCain’s campaign finance reform message strikes such a chord with Bolin, as she says it takes lots of money to win. 78-year-old Dale Ray of Boone was a prisoner of war in World War II, and he believes McCain’s Vietnam experience prepares him well for the presidency.McCain refuses to campaign in person here, but is keeping in touch through phone calls and e-mail. Polls show McCain in third place in Iowa, and should that be his finish in the Caucuses, it would change the rules of the game here.Iowa Falls Mayor Dan Brown — an unsuccessful candidate for Iowa Ag Secretary last year — is another big McCain backer in Iowa. Brown is a decorated Vietnam veteran. And former Iowa Republican party chairman Brian Kennedy is on the McCain campaign staff.
