Romney didn’t win this. Neither did Palin, Huckabee, Gingrich, or Jindal. “None of the Above” won it.
I’d have to agree with those who voted “None of the Above.” Until and unless one of these potential candidates shows an ability to bring the various splintered groups together like Reagan did (and that will require disciplining the foul loudmouth supporters of each who constantly attack and insult Republicans who don’t agree with them), I’ll be scanning the horizon for a candidate who can do it.
To begin with, fewer than 25% of those attending CPAC even voted in the straw poll-—1757 out of 9000+. Also, over half of those voting were college students, and 60% of those were male. From what I could tell after my 3 days there, the Romney people were very well organized-—emailing supporters to make sure they voted in the straw poll. There was also a lot of talk about how Palin supporters who had registered for CPAC decided to skip it as she was no longer speaking. The surprising thing to me was how low Huckabee finished. He seemed to have college kids with signs everywhere.
When was the last time the CPAC straw poll winner actually got the nomination in the next go-round?