2012 Presidential Election, Occupy Wall Street | featured news

They never got close, and Mitt Romney may not have even seen them, but protesters — some from Occupy Wall Street — took political theater to a new level Sunday outside the beachfront estate of billionaire David H. Koch, where the Republican candidate was raising money. Some of the 200 protesters marched down mile-long Coopers Beach toward the home in a cloud of sand, bearing banners and signs: "Your $50,000 ticket equals my child's education," "end corporate personhood" and "don't forget to tip the help."

Occupy Wall Street is trying to get protesters to descend on Iowa ahead of the Jan. 3 presidential caucuses. The Des Moines Register reports that the plan is to "occupy" the campaign headquarters of President Obama and the GOP candidates -- shutting them down if necessary -- in the week leading up to the leadoff caucuses.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is very much in its infancy, and many Americans still don’t know what to think of it. But there is also growing evidence that it could become a boon to Democrats. A new CBS News-New York Times poll shows 43 percent of people agree with the aims of the movement, while just 27 percent say they disagree.

While there are reports that President Obama's re-election plan will try to tap the energy of the anti-Wall Street protests, one top aide said this morning that the political impact of the demonstrations remains to be seen.