I was with my barber a few days ago and we discussed the Republican Party straw poll held in Ames, Iowa. He asked me what I thought of the results. Do I agree with what the news media is saying and what the so-called political pundits are interpreting vis-à-vis the results and the coming in of Texas Governor Rick Perry as a presidential candidate?
The straw poll shows the following results:
| Place | Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
| 1 | 4823 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | 4671 | 27.7% | |
| 3 | 2293 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | 1657 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | 1456 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | 718 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | 567 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | 385 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | 69 | 0.4% | |
| 10 | 35 | 0.2% | |
| — | Scattering | 162 | 1.0% |
| Total | | 16892 | 100% |
Based on these results and the announcement of the presidential candidacy of Governor Perry, the U.S. news media and several analysts have concluded that the top Presidential timbers has come down to Mitt Romney, Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry.
I told my barber that the said conclusion was disputable and questionable if not downright biased. To exclude Ron Paul among the top despite his exemplary performance as compared to the others does not bode well for a free press which is supposed to give all candidates “fair and equal” treatment. In fact, while several networks scheduled interviews with Bachmann the next day after the straw poll, none of them touched or even tried to hear from Ron Paul.
A careful analysis would show that although Michelle Bachmann beat Ron Paul by only 152 votes which is only .9% difference, it is really a statistical tie or the difference insignificant in so far as polling is concerned. Besides, consider the following facts:
1. Michelle Bachmann was born in Waterloo, Iowa (home court advantage);
2. She is currently residing in Minnesota which is not too far from Iowa;
3. She spent 10 times more than Ron Paul;
4. In fact, her campaign paid for at least 6,000 dinner tickets costing $30 per head with the expectation that the recipients would vote for her; (obviously 1177 did not vote for her);
5. Ron Paul garnered more votes than Romney when the latter won the straw poll with 4516 votes four years ago; more than Bob Dole when he won it in 1995 with 2582 votes; more than Pat Robertson who won it in1987; and even more than George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan when they were running against each other in the same straw poll in 1979; and
6. Lastly Ron Paul with his 4671 votes obtained 8.23 times more than Romney who got 567 and 7.9 times more than Perry’s 718.
The media projected Bachmann to win since the beginning of the campaign because of her inherent advantages such as birthplace, proximity to her current residence in Minnesota, invested resources and ties with the Tea Party and the Conservatives in Iowa who similarly made Huckabee win the caucuses four years ago.
Yet, she beat Ron Paul only by .9% or 152 votes. She has more relatives in Waterloo than that. I just wonder what would happen if the students are able to join the succeeding caucuses. Many of Paul’s followers are students.
It is probably correct to put Bachmann in the top tier of Presidential candidates after her first victory no matter how slim. But for the media and pundits to ignore Paul completely despite his laudable performance is a disgrace.
It is also reasonable to place Romney in the top tier because he was no. 2 in the primaries and the nomination four years ago. He is also running first in the initial surveys in the current race. But Paul obtained more votes than Romney in the straw poll and in a similar poll four years ago. Recognize Romney if you insist but to ignore Paul is a travesty.
Perry comes from Texas and probably has access to oil money. He was Al Gore’s campaign manager in 1988 and now perceived as George W. Bush in steroids. Perry, being from vote-rich Texas, is given a distinct advantage. He supposedly can count on the Conservatives as much as Bachmann does. But Ron Paul is also from Texas. He is definitely not George W. Bush but has the most conservative voting record among Republicans in the House in history. In fact, most of the issues that the Tea Party are
fighting for came from him, thus he was dubbed as one of the godfathers of the latter. Include Perry if you want, but it would be a media misuse and / or abuse of press freedom to ignore Ron Paul.
I am not a fan of Ron Paul. He has ideas that I like but many I do not. But in the interest of fairness he deserves to be heard in the same manner that President Obama, Bachmann, Romney and Perry are being given easy media access. A medical practitioner who has been delivering babies for free for many years as he diligently performs his duties as a Congressman, Ron Paul must be given the credit that is rightfully due him.
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