The question going forward is how many other candidates will get Huckabeed. It is easy for the pundits to say that winning in Iowa isn’t that big a deal – after all, Reagan didn’t win in 1980 and the first Bush didn’t win in 1988. That is true. But these things are also true – the
last four people to win the Iowa caucus became the Republican nominee.
Romney got Huckabeed. He discovered that bringing together the old Reagan coalition just meant he was bringing together a bunch of old people. He also discovered that going negative against a guy who is genuinely likable is a mistake. Finally, he discovered that going face to face with someone who is absolute authentic only highlighted concerns that he is anything but.