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 Limits of Devotion
* Visiting the non-Bush, non-Forbes tents in Ames, Iowa on Saturday, I chatted with supporters of Lamar, Dan, Elizabeth, and Gary. I asked the same question to each: Would you rather have your candidate win the nomination and lose to Al Gore, or have George W win the nomination and beat Al Gore?
* Every single person, some after pausing (an especially long pause in Bauer's tent), answered they would rather have George W and win.
* Gary Bauer, whose fourth-place finish precludes Steve Forbes from laying claim to the Conservative wing of the GOP for now, mentioned Ronald Reagan dozens of times in his speech. Reagan left office (essentially) in 1988 - eleven years ago. Eleven years ago someone who was graduating from college is now 32. So an important segment of the political population - voters 18-32 - have no real memories of the Reagan years.
* Steve Forbes decided to start his speech with fireworks and a balloon drop. The balloons dropped directly into the section where the Forbes supporters were sitting and they, inexplicably, insisted upon popping them for the first third of Forbes' speech, making it inaudible. He who swims by the noisemaker will be downed out by the noisemaker.
* There were some pyrotechnics which had not gone off during Forbes' introduction, so were set off when everyone was gone except the press filing for their late editions. Everyone jumped and ducked each time another set of fireworks went off. I thought I was in a scene from "Boogie Nights."
* After the results were announced and the spin patrols hit the floor, Forbes' staff went around announcing that "Steve Forbes is speaking in the far right corner."
* One unanswered question is: What does all this mean to the campaign of John McCain, who chose not to participate in the Iowa Straw Poll? He was on vacation this weekend which, I think, was a mistake. He might have been better off spending the weekend in New Hampshire, making as many public appearances as possible, asking voters to remember who was paying attention to their Northeastern concerns this August when they vote next February.
* George W talked about having built his Iowa campaign "neighbor-to-neighbor, at the farms and ranches." Senior Des Moines Register reporter, David Yepsen, told me there are no ranches in Iowa.
* I was thinking, as I was leaving the Hilton Coliseum grounds Saturday night, that if you took all the tents, all the reporters, all the politicians, all the food, all the entertainers and move them to Ellis Island you could launch a magazine.
* I want to thank the national press corps which allowed me to hang out with them for four days. I was allowed to use workspace, shared rides to events, was gently aimed in the right direction in terms of protocol, and was not laughed at when I asked questions.
* As soon as I put on my "PRESS" credential, I began to have warm thoughts about Bill Bradley.
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