So Mitt Romney Packed A Straw Poll....

Jennifer Rubin makes the point: although Mitt Romney's team may have gamed the straw poll and taken advantage of the voting rules...is not a deficiency on their part.

This organizational finesse of course is how straw polls are won and should serve as a warning to the Thompson team as they head from testing to running. Romney’s organization is running on all cylinders and has learned the basics of running an event, corralling its supporters and tabulating a win. Enthusiasm without organization does not win elections.

For some reasons, straw polls are supposed to reflect the "natural" preferences of the voting pool, and judging by the applause alone, Thompson might have been the favorite of those who paid to attend the convention. But Romney was able to get his voters to the poll. In the end, the latter matters. Thompson has yet to build the harness for the enthusiasm he generates.

Voter pools rarely exist in a vacuum of information. Romney's team has shown that it is very good at generating the level of atmospheric pressure necessary to win straw polls.