Mom's Pissed

Rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum waged a down-to-the-wire battle for the Iowa Republican caucuses Tuesday, but shortly after 1:30 a.m. today, Romney was declared the victor by eight votes.

Romney won 30,015 votes, compared with 30,007 for Santorum, out of 122,255 cast.

Each of the men won 25 percent of the vote and proclaimed victory.

Ron Paul was third, followed by Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman.

Romney has been like the fictional character Rocky Balboa over the course of the campaign season, as his opponents landed punch after punch on him, GOP strategist David Polyansky said.

“You find yourself screaming at the movie screen, urging him to get in the fight and hit back,” he said. “And then it dawns on you that Rocky was merely drawing in his opponents, tiring them out, and then was prepared to lay the decisive blows and score the knock out.”

The investment of $10 million, more than 70 candidate days and thousands of voter contacts four years ago paid off because a significant number of his 2008 supporters stuck with him, Kochel said.

His victory capped one of the most tumultuous presidential caucus campaigns that Iowa has witnessed.

In early August, Bachmann, a Minnesota congressman, triumphed in the Iowa straw poll and seemed a likely caucus-night victor. Or perhaps Paul, a Texas congressman, who finished a respect-denying 152 votes behind her in Ames.

By early September, Perry, the Texas governor, was the star of the 2012 race.

By early October, Herman Cain, a retired pizza chain chief was the front-runner in Iowa polling.

By early December, Gingrich, a former U.S. House Speaker, was king.

“Every major candidate got his or her moment in the sun at some point,” said political analyst Larry Sabato of Virginia. “It’s their fault if they were unable to sustain it, but Iowa paid close attention to the message each was delivering at least for their high-riding, top of the heap period.” (Jacobs, The Des Moines Register)

Entire article.