I may vote strategically today... ETC: Nah. Perish the thought. MORE ETC:  I played sergeant-at-arms last night at my precinct here in Johnston, where the vote tally was: | Romney | 117 | | Santorum | 86 | | Paul | 59 | | Perry | 46 | | Gingrich | 44 | | Bachmann | 12 | | Huntsman | 0 |
There was a Japanese film crew who video'd me counting the vote afterward. A film crew from Switzerland was there also. All this attention gathered into Iowa, evidently, from around the world. I got to chat it up with Rick Perry's comptroller, Susan Combs, from Texas. While I gathered signatures for Tom Latham's fight against Leonard Boswell, she and I talked. She's as tall as I am, and a rancher in the desert in Texas. As I awoke to the final vote in Iowa, where Romney won by 8 votes over Santorum, the only thing I can think of is that Romney has this sewn up. He'll win in New Hampshire, certainly. South Carolina is the question. With Perry reassessing his campaign, if Perry throws behind Santorum, that could keep the race viable, but Santorum needs money and people beyond Iowa, and doesn't have much of either right now. Craig Romney spoke for his dad at our precinct. Nice kid, the youngest of the Romney clan I think I heard. Obviously his dad won the night, but it's crazy to think that only eight votes were the difference. Nobody stood to speak for Gingrich or Bachmann. No ground game for either. Both should drop out, but I'm hearing that they won't. Newt is pissed at Romney, so it'll be interesting to watch. Personally, I wouldn't want Newt pissed at my campaign. But all of this means, in the most practical sense, that I get my phone back. The 30+ robocalls a day will stop now. Iowa's quadrennial 15 minutes are up. | 
