| 1 | Michele Bachmann | 4,823 | 28.6% |
| 2 | Ron Paul | 4,671 | 27.7% |
| 3 | Tim Pawlenty | 2,293 | 13.6% |
| 4 | Rick Santorum | 1,657 | 9.8% |
| 5 | Herman Cain | 1,456 | 8.6% |
| 6 | Rick Perry (write-in) | 718 | 4.3% |
| 7 | Mitt Romney | 567 | 3.4% |
| 8 | Newt Gingrich | 385 | 2.3% |
| 9 | Jon Huntsman | 69 | 0.4% |
| 10 | Thaddeus McCotter | 35 | 0.2% |
A few thoughts:
1. Everyone talks about how important Iowa is for the presidential election, yet Mitt Romney didn't even bother to show up here. Does Mitt know something that the rest of us don't know? No one has really even pointed this out in the media. In fact, most still consider him the frontrunner despite the fact that he finished below a write-in candidate (Rick Perry) who announced his candidacy the day of the poll.
2. Ron Paul finished second only 1% behind Bachmann. Everyone is saying it is huge for Bachmann that she won, but hardly anyone has mentioned the fact that he finished a close second with little money spent on the event compared to the winner.
3. Tim Pawlenty has now pulled himself out of the race. This was just a matter of time considering his inability to be a "sexy" Republican candidate. It appears that it is a matter of time before Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum do the same.
4. WTF is Sarah Palin up to? Her tour of American historical sights just happened to take her to Iowa?! Here is my theory on her. She will eventually join the race, but has strategically stayed out to avoid any media scrutiny until right before the Iowa caucus. A shrewd political move that doesn't surprise me one bit. She has to be one of the most disingenuous politicians I have ever seen.
5. Finally, the absurdity of American politics is on full display any time we talk about Iowa. It is completely stupid that Iowa...fucking Iowa...has as much influence on politics as it does. It is a state full of Christian social conservative corn farmers whose biggest city is smaller than Birmingham. What was the big hit at the Iowa State Fair this year? Fried butter. That's right, butter on a stick that is deep fried. That's what the people who have a major influence on American politics are into. Iowa is a huge reason why the federal government keeps subsidizing corn farmers, so that politicians can bribe farmers into nominating them for the presidency. Why the Hell does this tiny state that hardly represents America have so much influence? The state of Iowa hijacked American politics, and it blows my mind that other states refuse to move their primaries up to take some of that influence.
I mostly agree with you, especially on point number 4. However, I think you might be mistaking the Iowa straw poll for the Iowa Caucus, which is what really matters for the nomination. Even still, I'm not sure how much the caucus really matters. It is good to have a strong showing but remember who won the caucus before the last election: Mike Huckabee and Hillary Clinton.
ReplyDeleteIncorrect sir. Obama won the last Iowa Caucus and Huckabee was the last candidate to drop out before Mccain got the nomination so the caucus still has a huge influence on the nomination process. Even the straw poll is a big deal as it has already culled the field.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion Romney is the only republican worth a damn in the field. Republicans could actually win the presidency if they avoid making some of the mistakes they made last election with their nominations. They need a middle right nominee. Michelle Bachman is wasting time and money because there is ZERO chance someone as polorizing as her will get into office. Same goes for Ron Paul. Mitt Romney on the other hand comes across much more sensible than the others. He said he was skipping the straw poll not just in Iowa but in all states to save money so that he could concentrate on the actual primaries and caucauses.
ReplyDeleteIf Democrats have to lose (which i dont think will happen) then i hope its to Mitt Romney.
You're right. I'm not sure why I thought that about Clinton. But I stand by my statement that the influence on the overall election is over stated. The Republican field has already been culled, that is true, but was this directly a result of the straw poll or did Pawlenty see the straw poll as one indicator out of many? If you can't even win a straw poll in Iowa and the three biggest potential candidates skipped the event what chance do you have when the real elections start?
ReplyDelete