What They're Really Saying About Governor Mitt Romney Winning The Iowa Republican Straw Poll, Vol. 2

Sunday, Aug 12, 2007

ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "A solid win for Mitt Romney. Is this a sign of things to come?" (ABC's "This Week," 8/12/07)

U.S. News & World Report 's Michael Barone: "It's a plus for Mitt Romney." (Fox's "Fox News Sunday," 8/12/07)

Mason City Globe Gazette's Todd Dorman: "Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney strengthened his front-runner status in Iowa by winning the Ames straw poll Saturday - capping a super-sized event that mixed caucus politics with heaping plates of barbecue, inflated carnival rides and sticky summer heat." (Todd Dorman, "Romney's The Big Ames Straw Poll Winner," Mason City [IA] Globe Gazette, 8/12/07)

The Boston Globe's Lisa Wangsness: "Mitt Romney won the Republican straw poll here decisively last night, delivering 31.5 percent of votes cast and solidifying his position as the man to beat in Iowa, the state that holds the critical first-in-the- nation caucuses." (Lisa Wangsness, "Romney Trounces GOP Field In Iowa Straw Poll," The Boston Globe, 8/12/07)

The Associated Press' Mike Glover: "And [Governor Romney] needed to win. He needed to win substantially, and he did. And for the moment, I think the political community is giving him his due for the day. He needed to win. He won." (Fox's "Fox News Sunday," 8/12/07)

New York Post's Tom Liddy: "Looks like Mitt has caught fire in Iowa." (Tom Liddy, "Mitt Is Iowa's GOP Straw Man," New York Post , 8/12/07)

- Liddy: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney threw down the gauntlet in front of his fellow Republicans yesterday with a victory in a high-profile 2008 White House straw poll." (Tom Liddy, "Mitt Is Iowa's GOP Straw Man," New York Post, 8/12/07)

Des Moines Register's Thomas Beaumont and Jonathan Roos: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney emerged on top at the Iowa Republican Party's straw poll Saturday in Ames..." (Thomas Beaumont and Jonathan Roos, "Romney's Straw Poll Drive Pays Off," Des Moines Register, 8/12/07)

- Beaumont and Roos: "Ken Mehlman, the former White House political director who oversaw George W. Bush's winning straw poll performance in 1999, said Romney's margin exceeded Bush's winning margin eight years ago." (Thomas Beaumont and Jonathan Roos, "Romney's Straw Poll Drive Pays Off," Des Moines Register, 8/12/07)

Cedar Rapids Gazette's Rod Boshart and James Lynch: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney used a well-funded, well-oiled organization to score a hard-fought victory in Saturday's GOP straw poll that drew an estimated 33,000 revved-up Republicans to the Iowa State University campus." (Rod Boshart and James Q. Lynch, "Mitt Romney Wins Iowa Straw Poll," Cedar Rapids [IA] Gazette, 8/12/07)

- Boshart and Lynch: "Romney skated to victory with 4,516 votes, which was 31.5 percent of the 14,302 Iowans who cast ballots." (Rod Boshart and James Q. Lynch, "Mitt Romney Wins Iowa Straw Poll," Cedar Rapids [IA] Gazette, 8/12/07)

Los Angeles Times' Michael Finnegan: "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney handily won a Republican presidential straw poll here on Saturday ..." (Michael Finnegan, "Romney Wins Big In Iowa's GOP Straw Poll," Los Angeles Times, 8/12/07)

- Finnegan: "Still, the straw poll marked an important benchmark in the GOP race, underscoring Romney's strength in the state that will launch the party's 2008 nomination race with its precinct caucuses, now slated for early January." (Michael Finnegan, "Romney Wins Big In Iowa's GOP Straw Poll," Los Angeles Times, 8/12/07)

- Finnegan: "For Romney, the straw poll at minimum demonstrated organizational might that could serve him well in the caucuses." (Michael Finnegan, "Romney Wins Big In Iowa's GOP Straw Poll," Los Angeles Times, 8/12/07)

Reuters' John Whitesides: "Romney matched the 31 percent of the vote won by then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in his 1999 straw poll victory on the road to the White House." (John Whitesides, "Romney Wins Iowa Republican Straw Poll," Reuters, 8/12/07)

The Politico's Jonathan Martin: "For Romney's camp, however, the victory represented the clearing of the first bar in the nominating contest. Powered by a multimillion-dollar investment in this kickoff caucus state, the former Massachusetts governor's 13 percentage point margin of victory bested the 10 percentage point win then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush enjoyed over Steve Forbes in the 1999 straw poll." (Jonathan Martin, "Romney Wins Big, Huckabee Second," The Politico, 8/12/07)

Real Clear Politics' Tom Bevan: "Romney's win yesterday solidifies his standing as the front runner in Iowa heading into the final five and half month stretch." (Tom Bevan, "The Ames Aftermath: Lots of Excitement, Little Change," Real Clear Politics, http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/, 8/12/07)

The Dallas Morning News' Todd Gillman: "A win in 1999 helped clear the field for President Bush. This time around, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the favorite. He coasted to a win with 31.5 percent..." (Todd J. Gillman, "Iowa Straw Poll: A Carnival With Big Political Consequences," The Dallas Morning News, 8/12/07)

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Katherine Skiba: "Grabbing a commanding win in a watched-around-the-world Republican straw poll, Mitt Romney was rewarded by Iowans with an early victory Saturday in his run for the White House." (Katherine M. Skiba, "Romney Notches 1st Win In Iowa," Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 8/12/07)

McClatchy's Steven Thomma: "The event appeared to confirm the status of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as a leader for his party's nomination ..." (Steven Thomma, "Romney Takes Top Spot In Straw Poll," McClatchy Newspapers, 8/12/07)