DavidB 08/16/07
The Straw Poll: Give Mitt His Due
Mitt Romney’s victory in the Iowa Straw Poll was not unexpected but let’s break this down a little so you have a real sense of what’s going on here.
What this victory says to me is that from day one, the Romney campaign has been extremely organized and active. Giuliani and McCain admit they couldn’t compete in Iowa. Why? Romney had beaten them to the punch. His national campaign staff and his staff in Iowa were put together at a pretty early stage as far as presidential campaigns go. Just like the successful CEO he is, Romney laid the groundwork early for this Straw Poll victory. The Romney campaign is like a fine oiled machine.
Romney also spent the most time here. Brownback and Huckabee tried to rival that but Romney’s been traveling here since 2006. He’s also put a lot of money into television campaign ads…spending more than any other candidate. Sure Romney spent a lot of money and yes, Giuliani, McCain and Fred Thompson weren't playing here but Romney can only play who's in the game. Just because Shaq and Dwayne Wade don't dress doesn't mean you let up and blow the game. Romney didn't.
The easy story to write is that Romney won because of all those factors. But it goes deeper. Those factors (organization, television ads, time spent, forward looking plan) are characteristics of a top notch campaign team. Yes Romney is the main guy, the front man but he doesn’t get it done without smart people behind him and the team he has assembled is intellectually and enthusiastically engaged.
Romney has taken a lot of political shots from Sam Brownback, grassroots activists, Tom Tancredo, the anti-Mormon crows, the skeptical pro-life crowd, etc. He’s put up with a lot of attacks on his character. But you know what? Through it all, he never cracked. He never took the low road. That is saying something. Oh, and yes, by the way it also didn’t stop him from cementing a convincing victory in Ames.
So what does Romney’s victory mean for the future? In the short term, it means he can win Iowa and be considered a serious candidate to win the nomination. But in the longer term it shows that if he ever does win the nomination, he and his campaign staff will be a force to be reckoned with in the general election. They have shown throughout this campaign that they have what it takes to not only win the Republican nomination but vault their candidate to the title, “President Romney.”