Hawkeye State showdown: Palin documentary to debut in Iowa as Obama, Bachmann visit

“The Undefeated,” a documentary about Sarah Palin’s political rise that focuses on her oft-obscured record as Alaska governor, will have its official debut Tuesday evening at the historic Pella Opera House in Pella, Iowa.

The screening will come just one day after Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is set to kick off her presidential bid in Waterloo, Iowa, where she lived until the age of 12.

President Obama also plans to visit Iowa on Tuesday for an event on manufacturing. The state gave him his first victory in 2008, and is poised to be a battleground in the 2012 general election.

It is not clear whether Palin will attend, but given her talent for redirecting the spotlight, it is certainly possible. Palin associates have been asking about historic Iowa locations.

Palin showed up in New Hampshire on her “One Nation” bus tour on the day Mitt Romney announced his presidential bid earlier this month. She later apologized for stealing some of his thunder.

“The Undefeated” will be screened in 10 other cities the week of July 15, with plans to take it nationwide.

The filmmaker, Stephen K. Bannon of Laguna Beach, hopes it will also appeal to moderates — and perhaps even liberals — curious about the rise of one of the country’s most polarizing political figures.

“The community of Pella encapsulates what Iowa and the Heartland are all about. Steve Bannon certainly found a location that has the ‘Iowa-ness’ he was searching for,” Craig Robinson, editor in chief of TheIowaRepublican.com, said in a statement on the selection.