Just saying: If anyone had suggested that 13 candidate debates could or would be interesting, I wouldn’t have believed them. Not for a second.

As it turns out, the candidates managed to keep it interesting. Of course, Newt Romney, Tim Tebow, slipping eyebrows, memory lapses and an eight-justice Supreme Court helped. And has “screwed” ever been uttered in a presidential candidates’ debate?

Reminded me that earlier this week Rick Santorum shocked – or at least surprised – a Cornell College audience of mostly students when he used graphic language to describe some men who don’t take an active role in raising their children. Let’s just say he described their attitude toward parenting in a way that would rhyme with “miss more.”

I was surprised there were no references – from the candidates or their questioners — to Stephen Bloom’s depiction of Iowa.

No rest for the second tier: Whether it’s a reflection of his debate performance or a desire to visit every coffee shop in Iowa, Rick Perry plans to keep campaigning on New Year’s Eve.

All the GOP hopefuls will take a Christmas break, but the Texas governor, running hard to make it into the top three on caucus night and get a ticket out of Iowa, won’t knock off after a 12:45 p.m. meet-and-greet in Boone Dec. 31. No doubt he has to get back to Paint Creek to watch the ball drop at midnight.

He’ll be back on the campaign trail Jan. 2 in Sioux City.

If this early January caucus schedule continues, one can’t help but wonder how long it will be before a candidate hosts a New Year’s Day Bloody Mary meet-and-greet.

Good news for Obama: A new Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll finds President Obama has lost ground with just about every voting bloc since 2008. However, the University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll showed that the president is faring well with one group. He has the backing of Iowans who support the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Obama leads Romney 63 percent to 21 percent and Gingrich 65 percent to 25 percent.

On the calendar:

Dec. 16

Rick Santorum, 7 p.m., house party, Sioux City

Rick Perry, 1:30 p.m., Copper Cup Coffee Shop, Cherokee; 3:30 p.m., Grand Central Coffee Station, Storm Lake

Mitt Romney, 8:30 a.m., Missouri Valley Steel, Sioux City

Dec. 17

Rick Perry, 11 a.m., La Chiesa Restaurant, Spencer; 1 p.m., Chrome County Country Inn, Algona; 3:30 p.m., Cabin Coffee Co., Clear Lake; 5:15 p.m., Music Man Square, Mason City

Michele Bachmann, 9 a.m., Hy-Vee, Spencer; 10 a.m., Hey Good Cookies! Espresso & Gift Shop, Spirit Lake; 11 a.m., Cool Beans Coffee House, Estherville; 11:50, Pizza Ranch, Emmetsburg; 12:45, Chocolate Season, Algona; 1:45 p.m., Miller’s Landing, Humboldt; 2:45 p.m., Pizza Ranch, Pocahontas; 3:45 p.m., Pizza Ranch, Rockwell City; 4:45 p.m., Sac City Cattleman’s Co. employees, Sac City; 5:45 p.m., Pizza Hut, Ida Grove; 6:45 p.m., Cronk’s Café, Denison; 7:45, Carroll Bowl, Carroll; 8:30 p.m., Abundant Life Ministries, Jefferson

Dec. 18

Rick Perry, 8 a.m., Evangelical Free Church, Clear Lake; 10:30 a.m., First Wesleyan Church, Charles City; noon, Dave’s Restaurant, Charles City; 2:45 p.m., Chickasaw Events Center, New Hampton; 5 p.m., Winneshiek Hotel, Decorah

Michele Bachmann, 10:45 a.m., Harvest Baptist Church, Fort Dodge; 1 p.m., Grid Iron Sports Lounge, Webster City; 2:15 p.m., Pizza Ranch, Clarion; 3:10 p.m., Pizza Ranch, Garner

Dec. 19

Rick Perry, 10:15 a.m., Johnson’s Restaurant, Elkader; noon, Pizza Ranch, Manchester; 4:30 p.m., Country Junction, Dyersville; 6 p.m., MannaJava World Café, Dubuque

Newt Gingrich, Davenport and Iowa City

Dec. 20

Rick Perry, 11:45 a.m., Hotel Decker, Maquoketa; 1:30 p.m.; Main Street Walk, DeWitt; 3:30 p.m., Candlelight Inn, Clinton; 5:30 p.m., Figge Art Museum, Davenport

Newt Gingrich, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Knoxville

Dec. 21

Ron Paul, 10 a.m., Comfort Inn & Suites, Fort Madison; noon, Civic Center, Mount Pleasant; 3 p.ml., Washington Public Library, Washington; 7 p.m., Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center, Bettendorf

Newt Gingrich, Des Moines

Rick Perry, noon, Port City Underground, Muscatine; 1:30 p.m., Button Factory, Muscatine; 4:15 p.m. De Brito Baking Bistro, Mount Pleasant

Dec. 22

Rick Perry, 9 a.m., Drake on the Waterfront, Burlington; noon, Kuhly’s Bar & Grill, Ottumwa; 3 p.m., TPI, Newton

Ron Paul, noon, Grand River Center, Dubuque, 3 p.m., Delaware County Fairgrounds, Manchester; 7 p.m., Hotel Kirkwood, Cedar Rapids

Dec. 27

Rick Perry, 10:45 a.m., Main Street Café, Council Bluffs; 1:15 p.m., Glenn Miller Museum, Clarinda; 3:30 p.m., Adams Street Espresso, Creston; 5 :30 p.m., Clarke County REC, Osceola

Newt Gingrich, Iowa

Dec. 28

Rick Perry, 7 a.m., Westside Conservative Club, Machine Shed Restaurant, Urbandale; 1:30 p.m., The Sports Page, Indianola; 3:30 p.m. Smokey Row Coffee Shop, Pella; 5 p.m., Smokey Row Coffee Shop, Oskaloosa

Dec. 29

Rick Perry, 10 a.m., Coffee Corner, Washington; 12:30 p.m., Blue Strawberry, 118 2^nd St. SE, Cedar Rapids; 5:30 p.m., Fisher Community Center Auditorium, Marshalltown

Dec. 30

Rick Perry, noon, Doughy Joey’s, 300 W. 4^th St, Waterloo; 2:45 p.m., Fainting Goat, Waverly; 5:30 p.m., Cerro Gordo County GOP fundraiser, Mason City County Club

Dec. 31

Rick Perry, 10:30 a.m., Bloomers at Central Coffee Shop, Fort Dodge; 12:45 p.m., Dutch Oven Bakery, Boone