Lessons from the Iowa Straw Poll

So Mitt Romney has pumped some life into his campaign by going all-out to win the Iowa Straw Poll–good for him.  It makes sense that candidates would spend time early in the campaign jockeying around in small markets to test their logistics and messages, before moving on to larger states.  Tommy Thompson certainly read the handwriting on the wall, and has dropped out. Of course, the candidates still standing shouldn’t read too much into Iowa; it’s mainly a media event.  [Note to John Podhoretz:  Tommy Thompson was one idiot who took Iowa seriously.  Perhaps he’ll recuperate.] However, what the poll reveals about pundits in the new media is highly revealing; I had no idea Steven Bainbridge was so invested in regional parochialism. Is there something in the California air that corrodes manners and empathy?

Tips from the Instapundit, who gets it just about right.

Update (13 August)  Lileks wasn’t too impressed with Bainbridge’s rant, either.  And though it’s a small state, the University of Iowa has a widely respected statistics program.  We shamelessly copy them here at UTSA.