Jim Geraghty today on the Aimes Iowa Straw Poll:

Good for Team Romney, they did what they had to. Winning by thirteen points tops the George W. Bush standard. But when Fred jumps in, it’s a different race, and Romney’s real competitors are the big dogs - Rudy, Fred, possibly McCain if the news from Petraeus is good, and people give him credit for standing by the surge when no one else wanted to. Also, we have to see if Huckabee really turns this into a springboard, and whether we’re talking about a Big Five instead of a Big Four. Winning Ames with so many rivals staying home (and, I would note, a lower-than-expected turnout) is like being minor-league batting champion. It’s nice, but the big leagues still await.

Me yesterday, same subject:

…Romney did win by double-digits.  But it’s kind of like the early college football season when a Nebraska or a Florida plays Drillbit Tech and “only” wins 35-7 when they should have reached anybody-playing-Charlie-Brown’s-AllStars blowout level.  Yeah, they’re highly ranked, and yeah, they’ll probably be really good this season, but you can’t really point to this game as persuasive proof.

I will accept tickets for two on the next NRO cruise, though, if any complimentary ducats are still available….

UPDATE: AmSpec commits headline infringement….