Straw Men and Straw Polls

As up to 3,000 Texas Republicans gather in Ft. Worth to conduct a straw poll to select a favorite candidate for next year's presidential race, Robert Paul, the son of quixotic GOP candidate Ron Paul, sought to spin the results: "If we do really well, it would show the rest of the country that the Constitution is important and that people believe in the rule of law."

For better or worse, it will show no such thing. Nor will it show widespread support for Dr. Paul in his home state. None of the major candidates have shown up for the event, but according to the report, Dr. Paul has rented buses in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin to haul in supporters for the event. A strong vote will only show that he had an effective strategy for winning a straw poll that no one else really cared about.