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Who Made the Grade at the Iowa Ag Summit?

Bloomberg Politics’ Mark Halperin breaks down the substance, style, and overall impact for prospective Republican candidates at the Iowa Ag Summit.
Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, speaks during the Iowa Ag Summit at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., on Saturday, March 7, 2015.

Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, speaks during the Iowa Ag Summit at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., on Saturday, March 7, 2015.

Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
By
Mark Halperin

As cattle calls go, the Iowa Ag Summit is more serial policy chats than red-meat speeches. Convened for the first time this year by Iowa agriculture businessman Bruce Rastetter, the event attracted almost every major potential Republican presidential candidate. 

The audience and the scores of Iowa and national political reporters in attendance listened to see how, under Rastetter’s genial questioning, the hopefuls addressed in detail a broad range of agricultural issues.

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