And the others were just sort of subplots. You could see the obvious tension between Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and that state's former governor, Tim Pawlenty, who are really dueling it out in the Saturday caucuses here. And it could be a survival test for Gov. Pawlenty, who had been regarded quite seriously when he entered this race, and has been eclipsed.
And so -- then you had Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum trying to break through themselves, each with his own distinct style, Gingrich scolding Chris Wallace for daring to ask him about his -- the majority of his staff quitting his campaign. And, finally, you had the introduction of the mystery man, Jon Huntsman, the former governor of Utah and former ambassador to China.
So there were a lot of subplots, but I think the main plot is Mitt Romney goes in ahead and comes out ahead.
JIM LEHRER: Do you agree with that overall, Rich?
RICH LOWRY: Yes, it's the second debate in a row where Romney has basically skated by untouched.
But the most consequential exchanges for the next couple of days, and then the campaign following were those between Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann.
And I think what's happened to Tim Pawlenty in this race is very unfortunate. Anyone who has met him will say he is one of the nicest guys you will -- ever met in politics. And I think the best play for him in this campaign would -- to be himself, basically. Be the low-key, slightly self-deprecating guy from the Upper Midwest who has a pretty good record as governor.
Instead, he's been forced in this desperation role, where he's lashing out at Romney and especially at Bachmann, because Bachmann is stealing his thunder in Iowa. And Pawlenty has his entire campaign now riding on the outcome of the Straw Poll Saturday. If he finishes third, he probably doesn't make it through to the end of the year. So he's got to finish first or second.
In 1999, (Tenn. Sen.) Lamar Alexander made a big effort and then didn't do very well in the straw poll, and that was the end of it for him. He dropped out of the race. (Former Health and Human Services Secretary and ex-Wis. Gov.) Tommy Thompson, in 2007 -- the same thing happened to him.
"So, it doesn't tell us who the winner is, but Iowa doesn't really do that as much as it tells you what the field's going to look like going forward. It winnows out candidates, so this may be the last place for some of these campaigns. They may disappear after the ... straw poll."
O'Donnell told co-anchor Russ Mitchell, "There are high expectations for Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (of Minnesota) that she could either win this thing or do very well. (Texas Rep.) Ron Paul always has a very popular following (in Iowa). His campaign wants to do well, and they're admitting they bought thousands of tickets (for supporters to take part in the straw poll). This is a make-or-break moment, in some ways, some people think, for former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. He's got to show he can excite some voters, that he can turn out people. He doesn't say he has to finish first or second, but that he's got to finish in the front of the pack. So, I think people will be watching less about who's No.1, but who's really in the front of that pack."
Dickerson concurred, saying Pawlenty "probably has the most to lose, because everybody is looking at this as a key test for him. He needs money to continue running, not only in Iowa, but other states. There's a lot of focus on him. Michelle Bachmann has her own special corps of followers. If she didn't come in first, she could still continue. That's (also) very true with Ron Paul. So it's pretty much the (possible) biggest day of trouble for Tim Pawlenty if he doesn't have a big showing."
Looming large is the big political news to be mad outside Iowa, as well on Saturday, when Texas Gov. Rick Perry tosses his hat into the ring.
"There are a number of Iowa Republicans I talked to," O'Donnell said, " ... who are going to vote in the straw poll who said, 'Wow, I wish Governor Perry was here.' He is overshadowing the straw poll a bit by announcing today in South Carolina, then he'll go to New Hampshire and, on Sunday, he's going to come to Iowa and, very interestingly, he's gonna spend three days here in Iowa, which is a remarkable amount of time to spend in Iowa this early in the campaign, and then he goes back to New Hampshire.
"There's a lot of buzz about Rick Perry because ... he excites fiscal conservatives because of the relatively low unemployment in Texas at 8.2 percent, below the national average, he excites social conservatives, religious conservatives, so he is definitely going to be a player in this contest."
Sarah Palin is also in Iowa but, Dickerson observes, "No one really knows" what she's doing there. "Sarah Palin," he notes, "says she's still thinking about running. She is a little bit predictable though: When something big is happening for other candidates - (former Mass. Gov.) Mitt Romney, when he was announcing in New Hampshire, Sarah Palin showed up. When there's the big straw poll in Ames, Iowa, Sarah Palin shows up. So she at least wants to be a part of the conversation, and that's indeed what she's done again here by showing up out of the blue."
"What's really interesting about Sarah Palin is, just as John mentioned," O'Donnell pointed out, "likes to show up at the events, but sort of doesn't want to say whether she's running or not for president -- just wants some of the attention, and was asked a lot of questions about Michele Bachmann, the other woman in the race, and took the opportunity to weigh in and criticize that (controversial, unflattering) Newsweek cover (photo) of Michele Bachmann saying she did not think it was fair.
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