"Hinterlands" comment doesn’t bug Iowa GOP

The Iowa Republican delegates at their national convention in New York City aren’t getting too worked up by President Bush calling Iowa “the hinterlands.” Bush made the statement on the Rush Limbaugh program, then quickly corrected his mis-statement, calling Iowa part of the “heartland.” Steve Roberts of Des Moines, a member of the Republican National Committee, says Iowa IS the hinterlands. “Well, in a sense we are as far as the East is concerned,” said Roberts, a Des Moines attorney. “A lot of people in the east have not been west of the Hudson and in many cases see no reason to do that unless they’re going to LA, with a fuel stop in Chicago.” Another Iowan chimed in the discussion. “It’s sort of self-depricating humor because (Bush) lives on the other end of I-35,” said Kayne Robinson, a retired Des Moines cop who is now president of the NRA. “So, he’s talking about himself too.Roberts said “the hinterlands aren’t a bad place to be.” Robinson replied “Who’d want to live here” in New York City. Governor Tom Vilsack, a democrat, says Bush’s comment is disappointing because Iowa is a great place to live, its citizens are the most literate in the country and it’s home to groundbreaking research that’ll help solve the world’s agricultural problems. Vilsack linked Bush’s “hinterlands” reference to the President’s earlier statement this week that the U-S can’t win the war on terror — a statement Bush has since clarified as meaning there’s no nation to sign an armistice with since the terrorists are independent operators. “Bush has gone from Mission Accomplished to Mission Impossible to Mission Confused,” Vilsack said.