Picture of the brick with Newt and Callista's name outside John Wayne's home

For those who read the daily e-mail, I realized that the picture yesterday did not show up.

So I will include the link this time.

Link to picture.

Sorry for not catching it earlier.

More on Newt's trip to Winterset, Iowa

Arlette Saenz of ABC News:

Turns out, Gingrich is a huge John Wayne fan. During his visit to the western actor’s birthplace, he bought several items from the gift shop -- including a John Wayne jigsaw puzzle for his sister, a John Wayne beer mug and a poster of the film "Hondo." In August 2009, he and Callista donated $100 for the construction of the John Wayne Birthplace Museum adjacent to his birthplace.

A staffer sent along this photo of the tribute brick engraved with the Gingrich couple’s name to commemorate their donation.

Link.

Saenz: "Gingrich’s favorite John Wayne movies is 'Hondo,' followed by 'Sands of Iwo Jima.'"

A Saturday Night at the Dallas County Fair in Adel, Iowa, with the Gingrich Campaign

(I wrote yesterday's post during a break. This post picks up after the break.)

On the way to Adel was the first time I had rode with Newt. (Michael, a terrific video guy, had to leave to go home between John Wayne's hometown trip and this, so everyone was able to fit in one car.)

Newt made a point of asking me to sit in the back on the driver's side so that we could talk (he, of course, was in the front passenger seat). Some of the topics were the campaign (of course) as well as the upcoming movie Moneyball, based on a book about the use of metrics in baseball. Newt refers to it quite a bit in his own book The Art of Transformation.

Once at the fair, Newt was greeted by many people even before he got to the bleachers for the dirt track. While he and I sat down, his press secretary, R.C. Hammond, began taking pictures of the track, and unbeknownst to me, this one:

In between requests for pictures and handshakes from those around us, Newt and I talked about the NASCAR track that is about an hour from where I live (and how my hometown made a huge mistake in passing up on it) as well as some political matters. He finally recommended a book I should read -- I was shocked it took this long!

We ended up leaving around 10 PM and making the thirty minute drive east back to West Des Moines.

I thank Speaker Gingrich, Michael Krull, and R.C. for allowing me a chance to travel around this weekend.

I will be back in the Hawkeye State in about a month for the State Fair.