Steelman slogan a no-go with Lincoln Ladies crowd

It wasn't that she did that badly, but former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman's three-minute presentation at the Lincoln Ladies Ice Cream Social at Memorial Hall in Carthage Monday night was not one of her finer moments.

Steelman was the first of the two U. S. Senate candidates to speak (John Brunner was not at the event) and she was greeted with almost stony silence when she delivered what she apparently hopes is going to be the catchphrase of her campaign, "The status quo has got to go." What made it even more awkward was that she waited a few seconds, obviously expecting applause that never came.

Even worse, she failed to depart from her prepared script and said the same thing at the end of her three minutes. It didn't draw any kind of reaction at that point either.

Mrs. Steelman has never seemed comfortable speaking in front of audiences and last night was no exception. She was received politely, but that was about it.

She did have the opportunity to work the crowd prior to the speeches and that is where Mrs. Steelman excels.

Todd Akin arrived late, but delivered the kind of red meat, anti-big government, anti-tax speech that the audience is ready to hear.

Other winners and losers Monday night-

Sheriff's race- No clearcut winners and losers. Sheriff Archie Dunn complained about the County Commission and bragged about everything he has done, saying I more often than an obedient sailor, bu that is pretty much what we have all come to expect from him and it hasn't hurt him in the past. Larry Newman made some strong points about his business experience, since it has been obvious that Archie and money are not always the best of companions. Randee Kaiser struck a strong chord with his point that the sheriff needs to get along with people, something that has been a big problem for Dunn. (Note: Randee Kaiser worked for me at both the Lamar Democrat and Carthage Press)

Lieutenant governor's race- Brad Lager made a solid impression and Peter Kinder wasn't there and didn't bother to tell anyone why not.

Secretary of state- Shane Schoeller and Scott Rupp didn't do anything to particularly strike a chord with the audience, but they didn't do themselves any harm either.

Governor- Dave Spence and Bill Randles delivered strong speeches. Spence's business acumen seemed to appeal more to the audience than Randles' Tea Party approach. (I will try to get those speeches uploaded later tonight.)