The Faithful Choose Romney?

Fred Thompson told Christian conservatives at their Value Voters rally that, right after being inaugurated, he would “go in the Oval Office and close the door and pray for the wisdom to know what was right.”

Judging from the straw poll taken there, many of the most devout would be praying, too. God knows that most non-believers would be on their knees if the offhand, careless and seemingly senile actor/politician became President, ready to invade Iran and do who-knows-what to the Constitution.

The Democrats in this long pre-season have been uninspiring, to say the least, but the Republican field broke all records for smarm in wooing what they consider their Base this weekend.

In the end, it was Mitt Romney, the flip-flopper, who won their votes if note their hearts, closely followed by the preacher Mike Huckabee, who trumped all by saying, “I come today as one not who comes to you, but as one who comes from you. You are my roots.”

In the hall, most of the audience voted for Huckabee, but Romney’s campaign workers may have used Mammon to get enough supporters online to give their Mormon a narrow victory, with Ron Paul placing third and Thompson fourth.

The unreality of it all was highlighted by Rudy Giuliani, who is leading in all the national polls, finishing in eighth place behind Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter and Sam Brownback, who has dropped out of the race.

In this Presidential race, the issue of faith may be taking some funny turns.

Huckabee: Move Over, Paris and Britney

Two months ago, the former Arkansas Governor, suffering from media neglect, was musing about “accompanying Paris Hilton to jail” to get some attention.

"One of the frustrations,” he said, “is that there is more attention on Britney Spears getting out of a car without underwear than there is about who is going to be the next president."

He can stop complaining. After his surprise second-place showing in Ames yesterday, Huckabee is going to be the flavor of the month. The fellow townsman of Bill Clinton from Hope, Ark. will be the talk of MSM and bloggers.

USA Today is reporting that Huckabee spent only $58 a vote in the Iowa straw poll against Brownback’s $148 and Romney’s who-knows, possibly over $1000. The Washington Post calls his showing “a win.” The preacher-musician is on his way to becoming the Republican rock star.

Fred Thompson may want to think twice about waiting for Labor Day to announce

Huckabee, Harry Potter Hound Romney

Mitt Romney won the most votes in Ames today, but he may have come in second in popularity behind Harry Potter carved in butter, who drew long lines waiting to see his refrigerated image.

After spending millions on TV ads, chartering buses and saturating the state with relatives, Romney only managed to draw 31 percent of the vote against former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who ran no commercials and reportedly spent only $150,000.

Huckabee with a surprising 18 percent ran second and is positioned to break into the top tier of Republican candidates, if he can translate his showing into campaign cash, or if fails, to become the running mate of any of the top three contenders, who would be helped by his popularity among Evangelical Republicans.

Although the straw vote was practically pointless, it should at least thin out the crowd at future debates. Tommy Thompson is certain to drop out as is Duncan Hunter.

No word about whether Harry Potter is staying in the race.