What Does The Straw Poll Mean for Romney Fans?

Dear Romney supporters,  I know it’s not fun to tune into the straw poll results and to see your candidate so far down the list.  But here’s a little perspective.  Gov. Romney won this straw poll last year, but that didn’t pave the way for him to the nomination.  In fact, John McCain — the eventual GOP nominee – got less than 1% of the votes in the 2007 Ames Straw Poll.  This year, Gov. Romney decided not to sink resources into this contest, which is a simply a fundraising racket for the Iowa state Republican party.  Ramesh Ponnuru has an interesting analysis of today’s straw poll results:

Michele Bachmann won the greatest victory of her political career the same day much of the rationale for her candidacy evaporated. The Minnesota congresswoman came in first in the Iowa Republican straw poll, effectively removing former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty from contention in the presidential race. But Texas governor Rick Perry entered the race today, too, and he may do to her what she just did to Pawlenty.

Bachmann appeals to Republican voters who are searching for an articulate and uncompromising conservatism, and to an overlapping set of voters who prefer their leaders to be evangelical Protestants. They can find those traits in Perry, too—but Perry also has executive experience and a record of accomplishment that Bachmann lacks.

None of this means that Bachmann cannot continue to gain followers. She may even win the Iowa caucuses. But Perry and Mitt Romney will now dominate the race for the Republican nomination: One of those two men is highly likely to be the Republican nominee.

Read the rest here.  And don’t be discouraged.  We suffered through 2008, but 2012 will be our year!