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Mitt Romney's won the Iowa straw poll, which means... nothing?

Romney beat out Huckabee and Brownback in a contest between... Romney, Huckabee, and Brownback? Why didn't Giuliani, McCain, or Fred "non-campaign campaign" Thompson participate? Maybe because they didn't see the point in the "My Super Sweet Sixteen"-esque spending needed to win the poll?

[T]he candidates paid the $35 per person fee charged to vote in the straw poll...The candidates set up tents outside Hilton Coliseum to feed supporters, hand out campaign literature, T-shirts and stickers, as well as to allow people to escape the blazing sun...Romney and Brownback invested the most resources in the straw poll by paying for the privilege to erect massive tents near the voting entrance.

The former Massachusetts governor had a large outdoor stage with bands and other entertainment performing throughout the day.

Brownback offered air conditioning in his tent, which featured a stage for entertainment and a moon bounce and other activities outside for children. The other candidates had much smaller tents scattered around the coliseum.

But what is the Iowa straw poll? Let me put this in terms some of my people can understand:

Each election year, all the Republican candidates throw a Bar-Mitzvah in Iowa. Only this time, the popular kids decided they were too cool to throw a party, and just the dorky Hebrew School kids had one. But while little Sammy Brownback had his reception Saturday afternoon in the Temple Sinai multi-purpose room, Mitt Romney rented out The Roof Bar at the downtown Standard . Brownback's theme was country/western (but air conditioned!) while Mitt's was "Romney's Radical Racers!" (His parent's actually payed to have a NASCAR pit crew show up) and at the end, he spent enough money to have the best party.


So the one top-tier candidate who competed against the two candidates who are barely scraping by came away with the win? How is that an achievement? It's more like the soccer trophy every seven year old gets just for showing up (of which, as a child, I had shelves full.)

Romney beat Huckabee and Brownback in the Iowa Republican Straw Poll. C'mon, Bill Clinton could beat Huckabee and Brownback in the Iowa Republican Straw Poll. And Iowa still hasn't forgiven him for Monica.