Results should be coming pretty soon now. I’m predicting Ron Paul, with Bachmann 2nd and Pawlenty 3rd. If T-Paw doesn’t finish in the top three, he’s probably done.
I’m gonna go with Romney, Paul, Bachmann.
I’ll go with Romney, Bachmann, Paul. Pawlenty’s toast.
Romney is not participating in it. I predict Bachmann, Paul and Pawlenty.
Damnit, Paul Bachmann Perry then.
Perry’s not on the ballot either.
Ah, my bad (and Digital C’s). Make it Bachmann, Paul, and Anyone But Pawlenty, then. (Who would that be? Cain? Sure, why not?).
Even if Pawlenty does come in as high as third, he’s still toast. I can’t say why, exactly…he’s got this Adlai Stevenson look that just doesn’t make it.
Bachmann, Paul, Cain
btw. I understand why Romney isn’t participating. Did you see where it costs $30 to vote? What kind of indicator of support is that? I wouldn’t participate either.
Batshit wins. Great news for Obama.
Ron Paul 2nd, T-Paw 3rd.
Wow. Go Michelle! (I’m a Dem, BTW).
Poll tax…the only tax the Republicans like! 
Looks like Paul was a close second, then Pawlenty a distant third.
Third place might not be enough to keep Pawlenty in it, but I think he’ll try to hang on through New Hampshire, at least.
The other candidates in this poll are done. You can put butter and jelly on Gingrich because he is toast. Cain can go back to selling pizza. Santorum can go back to being a Google bomb joke.
People on the ballet
Michele Bachmann
Herman Cain
Thad McCotter
Ron Paul
Tim Pawlenty
Rick Santorum
Newt Gingrich
Jon Huntsman
Mitt Romney
I’d go with
- Michelle Bachmann
- Ron Paul
- Mitt Romney
This whole thing seems to be a contest of the craziest. I’m not even sure why the Iowa caucas still merits national coverage as it is no longer indicative of national results.
They’re usually taken as a measure of organizational and fundraising support, rather then raw numberic support (thats what polls are for). Romney participated in earlier straw polls in places like NH, so I don’ think he’s abstaining from any philosophical problem with straw polls, he just knows that he’d be at a disadvantage in Iowa compared to other states and it would look bad for him to loose to Bachmann.
Romney was at about 10 percent of Bachmann’s vote. He spent time and money there.
This was not the caucus. This was the GOP Straw Poll. A significant difference.
This entire event is little more than a huge fundraiser for the Iowa GOP. It would be dangerous to read too much into the results … it’s by far more a measure of how much money a candidate wants to spend and how hard they want to work to bring their people into Ames than anything else. The media loves a big show, and they love to put “scores” up on the screen. That’s why this is all over the news.
Oh, and that $30 it costs per vote? A lot of Iowans didn’t put their own money down for that. These campaigns actually shell out the dollars to the attendees … which is why I say it’s much more a willingness of a candidate to spend money than anything else. Yes, you can buy your way to the top of the Iowa Straw Poll. In fact, it’s encouraged! 
However … Pawlenty needed to do much better than he did. I heard he was spending a lot to bring folks into Ames, and he still ended up a poor third. Perry ended up with 700-some write-in votes, which was more than Gingrich got on the ballot. Not too surprising to me … I figured the hardcore religious right here in Iowa would eat up the Perry message.
Will Gill Gingrich keep doing his Bruce Willis act, or will somebody let him know that he’s dead now?
I think Romney remembers 2007, when he worked hard for the straw poll crown and got beat by Huckabee (again, the Iowa GOP loves 'em some Christians). He didn’t think that hurt him too much in the rest of the primary campaign, and he figures why waste the money again?
Who’s gonna drop out?