Bryon York:
The results from the Values Voters straw poll are in. As I suggested yesterday, there is a significant difference between the tally that includes Internet ballots and that of just those people who actually attended the conference. Of the conference attendees, Mike Huckabee won with 51 percent of the vote. Mitt Romney was second with ten percent. Fred Thompson was third with eight percent, followed by Tom Tancredo, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, John McCain, Sam Brownback and Ron Paul.
Looking at the tally that includes Internet voting, Romney won with 27.62 percent of the vote, with Huckabee very close with 27.15 percent. Ron Paul was third with 15 percent, followed by Thompson, Brownback, Hunter, Tancredo, Giuliani, and McCain.
And here's National Review's editor
Rich Lowry on Huckabee's speech:
Wow. Let me repeat: Wow. What an incredible communicator. His message has gotten stronger with the accent on Buchanesque nationalist/protectionist notes, and he speaks the language of these kind of voters better than anyone. I found myself getting goose-bumps near the end of his speech when he invoked a long series of Biblical underdogs, beginning with David and his five smooth stones. He made as strong a case as possible for putting all pragmatic considerations aside and going with him. And no one could mistake the shots at Romney, including a reference to candidates who have as many positions as Elvis had sizes to his waist-band. Watch out in Iowa.
