Crown Prince Wins by 8... Update: Santorum Certified Winner

The crown prince of the GOP establishment insiders club won in Iowa by 8 votes. But after spending the better part of a decade wooing Iowa voters with millions of bushels of corn cash, he failed to win as many votes in 2012 as won in 2008, missing the mark by 6 votes:

Romney 2008: 30,021

Romney 2012: 30,015

Santorum 2012: 30,007

UPDATE:

Rick Santorum -- who trailed by a mere 8 votes in the initial tally -- actually beat Romney by 34 votes, according to the certified vote totals.

Iowa: Can Romney Match His 2008 Performance? UPDATE: No

In 2008, Romney got 25.2% of the vote in the Iowa Republican caucuses. Four years later, as I write this, Romney is stuck at 23.6%, just behind Rick Santorum. If Romney can't muster 25% of the vote after all these years of campaigning and spending massive amounts of money, what does that say about this crown prince of  GOP establishment insiders?

Update:

Popular vote for Romney 2008: 30,021
Popular vote for Romney 2012: 29,657 (99% reporting)

Update II:

Romney's blogger groupie doesn't get it (via Jacobson).

Update III:

Photo finish...

Nukes for Nuts: Ron Paul Stands With Iran

Shorter Ron Paul: Give the world's bullies what they want and they'll go away...

Ron Paul told voters in Iowa on Thursday that western sanctions against Iran are "acts of war" that are likely to lead to an actual war in the Middle East...

...[Paul] said Iran would be justified in responding to the sanctions by blocking the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. He compared the western sanctions to a hypothetical move by China to block the Gulf of Mexico, which Americans would consider an act of war...

"I think we're looking for trouble because we put these horrendous sanctions on Iran," Paul told a midday audience at the Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa. He said the Iranians are "planning to be bombed" and understandably would like to have a nuclear weapon...

...the Texas congressman said that "we always seem to have to have a country to bash," linking the current saber-rattling against Iran to previous hawkish rhetoric that led to conflicts in Iraq, Libya and elsewhere.

"If you want to quiet things down," he said, referring to Iran, "don't put sanctions on them" because it's "just going to cause more trouble."

Ron Paul must think we're all crazy.

Update: a list of Ron Paul's goofs and gaffes at Hack Wilson.