Fiorina: Time to restore possibilities

CEDAR RAPIDS - On an earlier visit to Iowa, Carly Fiorina discovered what one Iowan told was the 'life-changing joys” of Casey's Pizza.

Toiling at the bottom of most polls in the race for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, Fiorina hopes to discover life-changing support among Iowa caucus-goers.

Fiorina told about 200 people in Cedar Rapids Thursday morning she's running because the nation is 'at a pivotal point.”

'I believe that we have to restore possibilities in every American's life regardless of their circumstances,” she said. 'We have to change the order of things in Washington.”

That will take leaders willing to challenge the current way of doing government, Fiorina said at the Blue Strawberry Coffee Company.

Having managed and led a $90 billion technology company, Fiorina said she knows the difference between management and leadership.

'Managers do the best they can within the status quo,” she said. 'Managers do not challenge the status quo.”

'Challenging the status quo, changing the order of things for the better, that is the role of leaders,” she said.

Fiorina scored with her message of restoring honesty and integrity in the federal government and 'unlocking the potential in every American.”

'I loved her message. I loved her honesty,” said Karen Zmoos of Cedar Rapids.

Jan Delaney was so impressed she wants to see Fiorina as president 'not because she's a woman but because she has good leadership, she's honest and we can trust her.”

Zmoos thought Fiorina sounded like Mitt Romney in a good way. She wants to see Fiorina debate the other candidates to see if she has 'the fire in her belly.”

'She's not afraid to say what she thinks,” said Jan's husband, Ron. He also liked that Fiorina was on time.

Although Fiorina was making her sixth visit to Iowa, she's not putting all of her eggs in the Iowa caucus basket.

'The Iowa caucuses very important and they are one of many important things that need to happen,” she told reporters. 'We're going to work hard and compete hard and, hopefully, continue to perform well at every opportunity including the Iowa caucuses.

'This is a long contest and it is going to be a process of elimination before it's a process of selection,” Fiorina said. 'We're not going to put all of our money on any one important opportunity.”