by Patrick J. Buchanan

Mitt Romney won his anticipated victory in the Iowa Straw Poll, with 32 percent and 4,500 votes, but fell short of expectations. Ex-Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, with 18 percent, exceeded them, and is the man of the hour to the political press.

The results from Ames, and South Carolina’s decision to move its primary to Jan. 19, are fraught with portent for the GOP and the party’s hopes of holding the White House.

First, the turnout at Ames, with 14,000 voting, was modest, in comparison to 1999, when George Bush finished first with 7,500 votes out of 23,000 cast.