Any Real News Yet?

Has anyone heard from Iowa yet?

Today is, of course, the Big Day, the day when the coronation of the GOP challenger to President Barack Obama begins. The crown may be placed upon one head and never removed, or we may have surprises in store and the entire race will actually be thrilling. Either way, what the future brings starts now.

The last polling data which we saw had Ron Paul with a lead, albeit a very slim one at 20%, while Romney was at 19% with Santorum (where'd he come from?) next at 18%. Yet a whopping 41% of Iowans claimed in the same polling to be undecided. That would seem to have left things up for grabs. But probably not; we have long suspected that an awful lot of undecideds are in fact quite decided but like to feel their options are open. We'll know tomorrow.

It would be a good thing for the Republicans if Ron Paul won Iowa. We need a strong libertarian conservative to set many things aright in our great nation. True, he comes with a lot of baggage. Yet he says things which Americans need to hear: it is at least arguably more important to secure our own borders than to play world policeman, for example. We don't fully agree with the Representative from Texas on that an other questions (a reasonably adventurous foreign policy is in our national interest, to quickly counter his libertarian shallowness on such questions) yet he speaks to American individualism in a way no one else seems to.

Should he in fact get the nomination, the GOP will be in trouble in November because, quite bluntly, he allows himself to be painted as a nut job, the cranky old uncle at family picnics who everyone tolerates, and may even smile at, while not seriously considering his words. Should he get the nod and win, we're rather sure that he will face the same troubles most Presidents have with most Congresses and not be allowed to stray too far into the abyss. In short, a good showing by Rep. Paul isn't the end of the world.

He may even carry lighter baggage than several of the more prominent conservatives such as Michelle Bachmann or Rick Perry, themselves seemingly relegated to sidebar status. Let that all be as it may. The bottom line is that the Sun will come tomorrow upon somebody. Hopefully, we pray, somebody worthwhile.