Managing expectations is important.
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The article mentions that only the message was for Cruz.
He has built up expectations for Iowa so much that a loss there would be devastating and a minor win would be disappointing.
Well thanks to Trump that dynamic has changed. I think Trump’s original plan was to ignore Iowa because he had it in the bag. Because of declining poll numbers in Iowa, with two weeks to go he is hitting Iowa with everything he has. If Trump wins in Iowa, people will say that Cruz was hit hard by Trump’s birther and ethanol subsidy attacks. This eases the pressure on Cruz.