Gabriel of Corpus Christi, TX, you may be right about our fellow Americans, but I wish you weren’t.

A true conservative, such as a libertarian, supports the traditions of the Founding Fathers and cherishes the Constitution. However, the American people in general have become so soft and corrupt, and public education in this country so antithetical to the freedoms and traditions of our Republic, that most Americans don’t even know what the Constitution comprises, let alone respect or cherish the principles found in the preamble and in the Bill of Rights. Americans have come to see Big Government as a parent, absolving them from personal responsibility while at the same time restricting their liberties “for their own good.” It becomes mother, father, and Santa Claus, toting a big sack of money extorted from other Americans and distributing the proceeds to those who make the biggest clamor. Busybodies who think that everyone should follow their dictates have learned to run to Big Government to force us to follow their agenda. Those who make a career out of being “victims” have learned to run to Big Government for a largess of other people’s money. Constituents flock to their Congressmen/women for more freebies from the public trough. They don’t realize that, what Big Government gives, it can easily take away. Americans are so eager to relinquish their individual sovereignty to Big Government that they shouldn’t be surprised that it has become their master.

On the other hand, there is nothing ridiculous in what our Founding Fathers had proposed for our nation. It IS ridiculous that so many of us think it “old-fashioned” to adopt the prescripts that they laid down for us to preserve. Instead, there are those Americans who want to continue what was laid down in the 20th century, when an estimated 200+ million people around the world were killed by Big Government. So, I suppose, by all means, we should marginalize Ron Paul and other true conservatives and continue where the 20th century left off?

Romney/Huckabee ticket?

I guess I do not feel that Iowa straw polls mean much especially when the top candidates have not run in that state. In fact I do not feel Iowa reflects what most Republicans will do. Obviously , the Republican party needs a greater diversity than the religious right and conservative base to win against the Democrats. Mr. Rommney is good looking but very conservative and hopefully he will lose decisively in the other states which he should if we stand a chance winning against the Democrats.

Jason:

I was under the impression that Congress appropriated and spent the money. The president has veto power and submits a budget, but ultimately Congress is responsible for govermnent spending.

Clinton did not have a surplus throughout his presidential term. In fact, the GOP controlled congress worked with Clinton to raise taxes and to cut spending. Also, as I recall, the Dems would have no part of a GOP proposed balanced budget amendment which was being touted at that time.

Revenue in our government is not a problem. Congress' continuing to spend money (with the president's advice and consent) which they don't really have has always been the problem.

I like much of what Ron Paul has to say, but on a few issues (especially foreign policy) I disagree strongly. Best of luck to him in the months ahead.

Why does CNN keep deleting this post? It seems in keeping with their satandards to me. I recognize their right to publish whatever they please, but I'd just like some clarification.

So what does this pay-to-play result actually mean?

Romney bought himself 30% at around $1000 a head, but he’s got $200 million so I guess he can afford it. Still pretty weak given his resources and expectations.

Huckabee is the big winner with some rightful claim to the “true conservative” mantle.

Brownback is in close enough third so he might not quit, even though he probably should.

Almost 2000 Iowans are delusional enough to pay $35 to vote for a maniac like Trancredo.

Ron Paul can claim a small success and march weirdly on.

Tommy Thompson is toast.

Fred Thompson can ignore the whole thing and still go up a couple points.

Giuliani will still be buried under his “I was at ground zero more than anyone” rubble for the next news cycle.

Duncan Hunter was never really in the race, but he might keep going out of reactionary spite.

Apparently John Cox is some sort of party functionary whose hobby is losing elections.

And where is the love for John McCain, an American hero and the only guy on this list who is actually qualified to be President of the United States?

Overall it was a big night for the Democrats.

To Gabriel from Corpus Christi,

The reason people need to realize Ron Paul is right and give up their government goodies is because we have 59 trillion dollars of debt (in current debt and promised entitlements) right now. We can not afford to continue at this pace. Our interest payments on our debt is becoming an overwhelming part of our budget. This has a great effect on our economy, our dollar and our lives.

Ron Paul wants to cut government spending so that we stop falling deep into debt. Ron Paul has never voted for an unbalanced budget or a hike in taxes and sure will never sign one as president. Conservatism used to be about controlling runaway spending. The last president to have a surplus of money throughout their term was Bill Clinton. We need to control spending like Ron Paul can.

Independent Voter, TN:

Huckabee supports the Fair Tax which if you look it up is a federal "consumption tax" meaning you pay taxes on what you buy. That is the same as the sales tax imposed in 45 states and would actually go on top of it.

The Huckabee website says "The FairTax will replace the Internal Revenue Code with a consumption tax, like the taxes on retail sales forty-five states and the District of Columbia have now."

That is directly from his website under Issues-Taxes/Economy. And don't be tricked, they call it a percent of "Tax-inclusive sales price." This means that a $100 item would cost $130 but they would calculate the tax as 30 dollars out of 130 so it appears as 23% but as most people know its a 30% tax. Check it out.

Nevermind the 5 boys… Has ANYONE in the Romney family EVER served in the United States Military?

26,000 tickets sold, only 14,000 votes counted?

LOL, how well did Ron Paul REALLY do?

Maybe Pictures don't do him justice but Ron Paul doesn't look physically capable of handling any political position let alone the leadership of such a Vast Nation. What experience and credentials does he hold?

Yawn.

Wow! I just saw that the Romney campaign purchased 10,000 tickets and bussed people to the event, and that’s his result?! I don’t think I want that level of inefficiency in the White House. Brownback, Tancredo and Paul spent next to nothing. Who ever spent the least money per vote has the strongest message. I’d like to see that list.

So he paid about, what, TWENTY-FIVE-GRAND a vote? And a guy at 2% in the national polls, with $1.85 on hand gets half as many votes? Way to go mitt!
He'd make a great nominee for the repubs.
Please support him, to assure a democratic victory in 2008!

Jason in El Dorado:

I have not seen where Gov. Huckabee is for a national sales tax. Where did you get that information?

Personally, I think that a flat income tax is the fairest tax. Recent studies have shown that if every American income worker paid approximately 15% tax on their earnings, that scenario would be revenue neutral and would eliminate all deductions, loopholes, etc.

I continue to hope that Mike Huckabee will sneak up on the "front runners." I continue to be impressed with his message, consistency and level-headedness.

He's the first candidate to whom I've donated money. Hope the media will start to cover him more.

And to all you Ron Paul supporters, while I do not discount your candidate, it worries me that he is Bill Maher's "new hero."

Good for Mike Huckabee. I'm a registered Democrat and will be voting as such in 08, but I think Huckabee is a very genuine person and I like to hear about his successes. Also, he plays a mean bass guitar.

"Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson chose not to invest the financial resources needed to win the contest. "

Romney can "claim victory" if he wants, but if Giuliani had really been in it, the outcome would likely have been different.

Really, the nomination of any of the frontrunners (McCain, Giuliani, Thompson, or Romney) would be great for the Democrats. Do the Reps honestly expect to win when they are, overall, supporting an administration with approval ratings consistently in the lower 30s? How can they expect to win with their support for the Iraq war when a solid 2/3 of the country are dead-set against it, including the vast majority of independents?

In these times of instant communication, 24-hour news, the Internet, etc., these early polls have lost their relevance. Does anyone really believe that this poll is any indication of the national mood? The media can try to spin this into something important, but it isn't.

Why on earth would Americans endorse a Trillionaire for President? Have you not had enough with the Big Bucks Oil philanthropical, Corporate kissing, pocket bulging all for me none for you hypocrits?

Most might think that after six long devastating six years of being governed by a bunch of Narcisstic oil digging for profit at anyone's expense, nim com poops you might have learned something!

God Bless Our World.

An impressive win for Romney and an excellent showing for Huckabee. This would be a good time for some of the weaker candidates (Tancredo, Paul, Hunter, T. Thompson) to get out of the race and let the serious contenders have the stage.

All this rah-rah for Ron Paul is useless. He's a deadender. I can only figure that it's coming from Democrats who want to make the GOP and Bush look bad.

Good job, Romney! Of all the contestants you paid for the most admissions. The Ames Straw Poll is a joke. Now that we've all yawned, let's move onto real votes.

Before the actual straw poll, the "experts" had Ron Paul at 0% and dead last. Fifth with 9.1% is way better, go Doctor NO!

Mitt is the most viable conservative in the Presidential race and the best qualified to bring new leadership with his vision for America's future. As Michael Reagan has reminded everyone, his beloved father, The Gipper; when Governor of California signed a major pro-abortion piece of legislation before he became our party's greatest conservative and pro-life President. So good people do evolve in their positions on social issues. Gov. Romney has an impressive resume to showcase. When elected governor in 2002 he assumed a monstrous 3 billion dollar deficit and put the state od Massachusetts back in the black without raising taxes. His success in public office mirrors his record in the private sector at Bain Capitol where he reorganized and made household names of companies such as Domino's Pizza and Staples. He also bailed out the U.S. Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, and turned a profit there for 100 million dollars. I have nicknamed Mitt, "the Rominator", for obvious reasons. Candidate Romney graduated valedictorian in undergrad; then pursued a double degree at Harvard (M.B.A. and law) graduating in the top 5% of his class while doing so. Gov. Romney's record not only reflects his fiscal expertise; but he's also pro-life. As governor, Romney vetoed a bill which would have funded human cloning and the destruction of human embryos. A strong family man, Romney has been married for 38 years to his wife Ann, has 5 sons, and 10 grandchildren. Romney has also taken a tough stance on terrorism, and he's the only top tier presidential candidate who strongly opposed the flawed Senate immigration bill( aka "No alien left behind") architected by Senators McCain and Kennedy. Romney currently leads all Republican candidates in New Hampshire, Iowa and Michigan

Ron Paul seems to be a nice old man, and he could never be accused of not holding his beliefs strongly, but alot of those beliefs are ridiculous, and he is not a viable candidate by anyone's standards.

Sure, alot of people may be fed up with the system, but a libertarian will never be elected president. And not because "the system" is out to keep him down. The vast majority realizes that, however pure his motives, he would be a disaster of a president. People may whine about big government, but almost everyone benefits from the government—either from social programs such as medicare and social security, or from farm and industry subsidies, or by utilizing public land, or simply from the jobs that government spending creates. When push comes to shove, people know that. Its only pork when the money doesn't benefit YOU. No one will ever support a candidate who truly wants to start dissolving the government. And they shouldn't.

That said, I hope he stays in the race so as to be a voice of reason on certain issues (I.E. the war) within the republican camp.

And that said, OBAMA '08!!!!!

This story and comments seem to credit everything and everyone possible (including Ron Paul)for the win, except the candidate!! He won with almost twice to votes of the second place winner. Is it not just remotely possible that there was no vast conspiracy and that just maybe he may have been the best choice, h'm mm just maybe???

Huckabee is said to have done well because of the Fair Tax talk. That is scary. The fair tax is anything but fair, look it up (factcheck.org). I did a quick calculation using the current federal income tax brackets and the proposed federal sales tax, which would really have to be 34% but i will use 30% because thats what the American Fair Tax Association says. If i make 50,000 this year, i pay 9165 in federal income tax leaving me with 40,835 to take home. If we got rid of the federal income tax and implemented the federal sales tax (at 30%) my 50000 income would be translated into only 38,461.54 spending money. The Fair Tax is a way for the republicans to raise the taxes without anyone knowing.

Mitt Romney outspent his minor opponents by literally millions and he couldn't even get one third of the vote.

And that was without any of his real competitors in the game. Romney is sad, he's what happens when someone tries to buy an election.

I like how Romney quickly claimed victory. The man outspent his opponents by how much money and still his next place competitor, a former governor with a beter record and not nearly as much money, scored better than 50% of Romney's total. I think Romney's star is flip flopping out of the sky and Huckabee's brand of moderate conservative populism is on the rise. He won the last debate and did extremely well in the straw poll. Now he needs to translate these into fund raising strengths and watch as Romney has to keep pumping even more of his own cash into his campaign just to convince people he is worth even looking at.

Obama is more black than any blackman who has ever been in america's political mainstream. Obama do not need written or unwritten history to establish his african identity. Everyone knows obama is the seed of kenya.

Yes, I've noticed the "mainstream" media falling over themselves trying not to report anything–good, bad or otherwise–about Ron Paul. What's that about?

Who is Ron Paul? A dream come true for those of us who want to preserve the republic. An upright person who will soon be discovered by more people. A nightmare for neocon traitors.

Governor Huckabee, way to go!

Go Huckabee!! Great job in Iowa.

Fred Thompson can stay out, John McCain needs to get out and Giuliani needs to figure it out. It's down to Huckabee and Romney. Period.

Hopefully with these results, Tommy Thompson, Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo will drop out immediately while Ron Paul and Sam Brownback (especially since he is from Kansas and threw more money into Iowa than Huckabee) will be on their heels.

Giuliani and McCain quit, so anything other than this being played as a loss for them is a joke.

GO HUCKABEE!!

Jason: Your comment is inaccurate. Only two of the top three (Romney & Brownback) bused people to the event. Huckabee did not have the money to do so.

And for the Ron Paul supporter, if you want to talk about dollars per vote, wouldn't Huckabee win that hands down?

I think the only two good candidates the republican party has are Ron Paul and Mitt Romney.

I think that Paul might be the better candidate of the two. Romney is good, but I don't know how I would feel voting for him even though I am a mormon.

YOOOOOHOOOOOO!!! Go Huckabee!! Great job in Iowa.

Fred Thompson can stay out, John McCain needs to get out and Giuliani needs to figure it out. It's down to Huckabee and Romney. Period.

Hopefully with these results, Tommy Thompson, Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo will drop out immediately while Ron Paul and Sam Brownback (especially since he is from Kansas and threw more money into Iowa than Huckabee) will be on their heels.

Giuliani and McCain quit, so anything other than this being played as a loss for them is a joke.

GO HUCKABEE!!

Ron Paul? Who is he?

Once again, mass media ignores the Ron Paul grassroots phenomena…it's truly disillusioning…

CNN you are breaking America's heart.

Way to go Governor Huckabee!

Who cares?

Not one mention of Ron Paul. Typical. Keep trying to cover up the truth you guys.

14,000 votes? LOL, the fixers had their work cut out for them apparantly, working an hour and a half overtime, ensuring Romney got what he paid for.

Big victory for Huckabee and Ron Paul though

Top three all bused in voters to the event, of course they would win. The problem for them comes when the actual primary comes around and they need to have voters passionate enough about their campaign to get out and vote on their own without the freebies. I think overall Huckabee should be proud. My guess is Romney bought more tickets to the event than he received votes and his results certainly dont show well for the amount of money he spent, even if he won. Brownback should be embarassed, he flat out said he would beat Romney and even though he spent a lot of money to get Iowans to the event, he placed third!

Pretty impressive that a little known governor was able to scare off too national heros with almost absolute name recogniation to win the biggest event besides the actual caucuses themselves.

Romney has run his campaign like he would run the country, with zeal and competence.

Contrast that with Thompson. Not even willing to leave his home office.

Concerns of who will be the next president is completely arbitrary until someone cares to make public the nuisance presented by indirect hypnotism. As who truly understands how minds are justified to decide.

Protect the president from hypnotism, or don’t blame the president or other politicians for the next military engagements and any other mistakes to come.

The state of the Democracy of the United States of America and most other free world nations are so corrupted from unseen elements that the state of democracy in those nations have become crippled to near failure by shear lack of a proper levels of legislature via apportionment.

Remember the current president still go majority vote, which means the people still trusted George W. Bush alone.

Few are always easier to control than many.

Amazing that Ron Paul generated 1/3 of Romney's votes. Especially when one evaluates the dollar-per-vote ratio each respective candidates spent.

Just like Iowa straw polls of the past, Romney's decisive win today shows that he has the mustard to win the nomination. Romney has the skills and the charisma to defeat Hillary Marx Clinton.