A straw poll is like a straw man. It's not real. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won Iowa's straw poll this weekend. Does it matter? Candidates John McCain and Rudy Giuliani declined to participate. Why should they have? The straw poll is a money-raising stunt by the local party that has no bearing on delegate accumulation for the 2008 convention. Voters had to pay $35 for the honor of casting a ballot. Romney is spending a lot of money early. To compete with the more well-known Giuliani and McCain, he has to. In addition to Mike Huckabee, whose strong showing has marked him as the religious right's candidate, Romney emerges as the big winner from the small event. He may trail opponents in national polls, but in crucial states such as Iowa and New Hampshire he does well. Add his three home states--Utah, Michigan, and Massachusetts--and one understands why he is such a formidable candidate. There is also this intangible: Romney seems to want it more. There's less than five months to go before the real deal in Iowa.

He certainly created the desired affect as his name and the poll has dominated the news.

Wow, surprise surprise... Straw Poll Results

http://www.chrisbrunner.com/2007/08/12/fox-news-censors-straw-polls-results/

http://www.infowars.com/articles/us/ron_paul_iowa_straw_poll_evidence_suggest_paul_was_cheated.htm