Made of Straw

My heart is beating just a little bit faster knowing that the Iowa straw poll, one of the grand rituals on American politics, is now upon us.

Where else can a political campaign essentially buy votes and be greeted by praise instead of prosecution?

Now I had thought the media would just ignore the straw poll after Rudy and McCain blew it off. After all, how much of a story is Romney and a bunch of second-tier types?

Apparently, I forgot it's August.

I'm not working Monday, but the Philly Inquirer's Dick Polman has saved me hours of research by writing the lead of the straw-poll story in advance:

"By busing in the most loyalists, and paying for their tickets, Mitt Romney defeated similar vote-buying strategies employed by his more modestly-financed rivals, including Mike Huckabee and Sam Brownback. But it's doubtful that this Saturday night event was an accurate barometer of anything, given the fact that, as in the past, it attracted only two percent of Republican voters statewide . . . "

Nailed it.

But wait: maybe it will have an impact, judging by this Politico item:

"From a blast email Tommy Thompson's campaign manager sent out yesterday: 'Tommy Thompson has made it clear that if he doesn't finish first or second this week in Ames, Iowa at the straw poll, he will not go on in this race.' "

Well, that would clear the way toward having only one Thompson in the race.

The Democrats faced a very different audience last night than they did in standing before union families at Soldier Field, and the Boston Globe poses the question:

"Can you be a true believer in equality for gays and lesbians without supporting same-sex marriage?