False Hopes and the Iowa Straw Poll
State party leaders defend the poll as key to bringing together activists who will be instrumental in helping candidates get out voters for the January caucuses.
"The people at the straw poll are the ones who crack open their Rolodexes, who bring 20 people to the caucuses, and then they bring 10 people each, and so on," Laudner said. "A third to half of the caucus-goers will be at this event."
Though they won't be politicking, Giuliani and McCain will remain on the ballot. Potential candidate Fred Thompson has been in contact with Laudner's office about the event, though Huckabee says he can't imagine why the maybe-candidate would jump in at a late date.
"It's kind of like that saying, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" Huckabee said. "If the notebooks and cameras and top candidates aren't there, does our winning make a sound?"
Well, maybe not much of a sound—but when you're struggling to beat out Britney for some attention, how bad could a second- or third-place finish in Ames be? Especially considering the alternative.
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