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WASHINGTON — Some remarkable moments in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses:
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From the front-runners:
— "Game on," said former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in opening remarks to his supporters. He and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney were virtually tied early Wednesday, having been at one point separated by only five votes.
— "I love our land. I love our people. And I love that this is a land of opportunity," Romney said to a gathering of supporters shortly after Santorum left his stage. "Let us restore the greatness of America," he said, vowing to turn back the clock on President Barack Obama's health care reforms, which he and critics have dubbed "Obamacare."
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Last words:
In remarks to supporters, Texas Gov. Rick Perry framed his political fight in terms of past American battles: "This is Concord. This is Omaha Beach. This is going up the hill, realizing that the battle is worthy. This is about sacrifice. Every man and woman has sacrificed your time, your treasure, your reputation."
Meanwhile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich turned his attention to Obama: "We have had three years of another amateur. Washington is too complicated; the problems are too hard."
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Awkward moments:
At a town hall-style meeting, Perry said he would push for amendments to the Constitution that would ban deficit spending, would relegate Congress to a part-time role and would do away with lifetime appointments of federal judges.
But after a sometimes rambling 25-minute speech, no one in the audience rushed to ask a question.
To fill the gap, Perry awkwardly hummed the theme song from the game show "Jeopardy!"
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Internet jabs:
Texas Rep. Ron Paul took a digital swing at former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's low polling numbers, saying to his rival on Twitter: "We found your one Iowa voter, he's in Linn precinct 5 you might want to call him and say thanks."
Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller told the AP in response: "We found it strange that Rep. Paul would make such a childish attack."
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Coming home:
Rep. Michele Bachmann looked for presidential caucus support in her childhood backyard, imploring Iowa voters to back her bid to "reclaim our country."
Prospects were bleak for the Bachmann heading into the vote. But that didn't stop her mother from joining her on stage in a college sports arena — serving as a caucus hub — near her birthplace of Waterloo.
"People from where you are from are like you," said Mardell Lindberg, a longtime Waterloo resident who supports the Minnesota congresswoman.
