Romney goes to State Fair

Mitt Romney, left, flips pork chops while working in the Iowa Pork Producers tent at the Iowa State Fair.
(Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press)

The last full day of campaigning before Saturday's Iowa straw poll took Mitt Romney today to the celebrated State Fair in Des Moines. There he had to navigate one of the gauntlets for presidential hopefuls -- flipping pork chops at the Iowa Pork Producers tent.

For someone accused of flip-flopping on issues, it carried more hazards than usual. But Romney, escorted by much of his family, gave it the old college try.

It soon became clear that he needs to bone up on his backyard grilling skills. Wearing a personalized blue apron emblazoned with "Not a Blah Cook" and "The Other White Meat," he dropped a chop. As the assembled media watched, he scooped it off the ground and put it back on the grill.

A reporter asked whether it was smart to be flipping anything, given the knock on his conservative credentials. "It's part of the process," Romney replied, according to NBC's Lauren Appelbaum. "It's part of the fun, to be at the Iowa State Fair and flipping pork chops."