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Carson, Pataki Take Their Turn On The Soapbox

John Pemble/IPR
Republican Ben Carson greets supporters after speaking at the Iowa State Fair Sunday.

With the higher-profile candidates Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders gone from the Iowa State Fair Sunday, the crowds waiting to see or hear presidential hopefuls were noticeably smaller.

Still, Republican Ben Carson delivered his speech from the Des Moines Register soapbox before a crowd of several hundred that spilled across the Grand Concourse from the stage area.  Carson said putting aside partisan bickering will give Americans the opportunity to solve serious problems, like the national debt.  He says it threatens to destroy the future for America’s children.

“I was looking forward to retirement and putting my feet up, but I really couldn’t knowing what was going to happen to their future if we continue down the same route,” he said.

Former New York Governor and fellow Republican George Pataki spoke to a much smaller crowd a few minutes later.  He stressed national security, saying the 9-11 terrorist attacks were the result of the U-S not fully realizing the threat posed by al-Qaeda.

“Today, ISIS poses as large a threat, if not greater, to America,” he said.   “Not just cities like New York, but communities across America.  We have got to stand up and defeat radical Islam over there before they can attack us here.”

Pataki says the U.S. should provide aid to those currently fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State, such as the Kurdish Army.  He also says the U.S. should be willing to strike at ISIS recruitment and training facilities overseas.

pataki.mp3
Listen to George Pataki's speech at the fair. (A technical problem prevented us from recording the first five minutes of the speech.)

Michael Leland is IPR's News Director