http://www.usaelectionpolls.com/…

I’ve not double checked the math but given the general position in national polls before Ames and the amount of time and money spent in Iowa it was expected that Paul would be a major percentage winner.

http://www.cnn.com/…

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson is abandoning his presidential bid, his campaign announced Sunday night.

Thompson, who also served in the Bush Cabinet, did not meet the expectations he set for himself in the Ames Republican straw poll held Saturday.

“I want to thank the people of Iowa who were welcoming and supportive as well as my volunteers and contributors from around the country,” Thompson said in a written statement.

Thompson, former secretary of Health and Human Services, had hoped to place second in the poll. Instead, he finished sixth.

While probably unlikely, perhaps a few of his supporters will move to supporting Dr. Paul. If only we could get some bigger name politicians and celebs to support Paul. Where are Penn and Teller? Matt Stone and Trey Parker? I’m usually not interested in knowing what those in Hollywood believe… but given that the supporters of freedom there are few and far between it’d be nice to have them speak out to raise awareness.

Source: Cyclone Conservatives

1. Mitt Romney : 4,516 / 31.5%
2. Mike Huckabee : 2,587 / 18.1%
3. Sam Brownback : 2,192 / 15.3%
4. Tom Tancredo : 1,961 / 13.7%
5. Ron Paul : 1,305 / 9.1%
6. Tommy Thompson : 1,039 / 7.3%
7. Fred Thompson : 203 / 1.4%
8. Rudy Giuliani : 183 / 1.3%
9. Duncan Hunter: 174 / 1.2%
10. John McCain : 101 / 1.0%
11. John Cox : 41 / 0.1%

I’m disappointed that Dr. Paul came in 5th but 9.1% isn’t all that bad. The biggest problem is that given his possition the mainstream media can easily leave him out of their reports of the top few. Fox mentioned only the top 4 on the first reporting. This won’t stop the Paul supporters. We still have New Hampshire.

Update: I’d like to mention for those who may not have followed the Ames Straw Poll. Romney spent tons of money in Iowa. He bought thousands of tickets to give away, rented buses to bring people to the poll and provided entertainment and food. Huckabee, Brownback and Tancredo from what I’ve read did much the same. They have spent well over a month campaigning, rented buses, bought tickets, etc. Much of Paul’s campaigning began a week or so (including radio and TV ads) before the poll, bought 800 or so tickets and surely didn’t spend money on buses and such. Given that I feel Paul did pretty well. Almost 5 times what he supposedly polls in other national polls. While as I previously said the mainstream media will continue to ignore him we supporters are making inroads. I’ve noticed that just the amount of “ron paul” google news hits raises all the time. While they may often be duplicated articles just reported in different online publications it is increasing the surface area of Paul’s message.

http://blog.ronpaul2008.com/…

What a great time we had in San Antonio last weekend. An enthusiastic bunch of Texans thronged the Alamo for a rally, and then there was a fundraising dinner at an historic museum. More than a thousand people attended one or the other.

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