Ames: Instant Analysis

As expected, Romney wins, and does so by a healthy margin, which will sustain his momentum.

Huckabee's second-place finish is the story of the night, especially because he didn't have any buses, and will inject some much-needed adrenaline into his fund-raising.

Brownback spent heavily here, so barely coming in third is a major disappointment.

As promised, Tommy Thompson will drop out (finally!). Duncan Hunter should follow suit.

Update (8/13/07): Ryan Sager has trouble expressing his opinion:

The face of the Republican Party in Iowa is the face of a losing party, full of hatred toward immigrants, lust for government subsidies, and the demand that any Republican seeking the office of the presidency acknowledge that he's little more than Jesus Christ's running mate. The pandering from the stage told the story. Mr. Romney promised not a chicken in every pot, but "a button on every computer" for parents to block obscene material. Anti-immigrant ranter Tom Tancredo nearly brought the house down decrying the fact that Americans sometimes have to "Press 1" for English. Mr. Huckabee earned his second-place finish in part by making the specious claim that farm subsidies safeguard America's food independence. (You think it's bad depending on foreign oil, Mr. Huckabee asked? "Wait until our country messes up and has to depend on foreign food.") Senator Brownback of Kansas, the third-place finisher, declared as he often does in his stump speech: "All for Jesus. All for Jesus. All for Jesus. All for Jesus."