Iowa City reacts to Obama's Eastern Iowa visit

Though Obama aides and state Democrats insisted the president's stop in Bettendorf on Tuesday was strictly a policy talk, others said it was equal-parts a campaign move ahead of the 2012 race.

University of Iowa political-science Associate Professor Tim Hagle said it’s common for incumbents to strategically “double up” appearances like Tuesday’s.

“This is one reason the incumbents are very hard to defeat,” Hagle said. “They have the ability to do something presidential but can also support their own campaign.”

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