Winners and losers in Iowa

The famed Iowa caucuses are this week, and it’s time for some predictions, along with some clear messages to a few candidates that it’s perhaps time to pack it up and head on home.
 
But first, expect Mitt Romney to win this Tuesday. The overall GOP front-runner has surprised pundits both in and out of the Hawkeye State with his deft campaigning and his behind-the-scenes courting of all the right power players. Even if Tea Party favorite Ron Paul edges out a victory over Romney, it’s still an important finish for the former Massachusetts governor.
 
An Iowa win or second-place finish would position Romney nicely for New Hampshire and then South Carolina, Florida, etc. Yes, he finished second to Huckabee four years ago, but this time it’s different. And he knows it.
 
It also sends a clear message to the GOP establishment of who their “guy” needs to be. No more hand-wringing and waiting next to the water cooler for the next best thing. Been there, done that with, oh, four or five others (remember: Trump, Perry, Christie, Cain, the list goes on). The party lieutenants need to step up and begin to get behind their front-runner. We’re not there yet, but folks in the institutions need to begin to come to grips with Romney and become more focused on beating Obama.
 
Now, on to the losers. Even though former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is slated to do well in Iowa, the sensation is more like a Roman-candle firework — pretty to watch and loud, but short-lived and anti-climactic. Santorum knows this as well. He can do whatever he likes moving on to New Hampshire, but I fear this will be the high-water mark of his presidential run.
 
Jon Huntsman and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann should both exit stage right following Iowa. You can bet Bachmann will not. After all, she did win earlier this year. But neither has the staying power, and Huntsman just hasn’t caught fire with any constituency.
 
More importantly, perhaps, a Romney win would send a message to Gov. Perry and maybe even Newt Gingrich that their days are numbered. The allure of Perry started dissipating the day after he announced. What a flop. And while he still has a lot of money in the bank, he’s been able to do absolutely nothing with it, appealing to no one. He will need to take a long, hard look at his campaign moving forward, and make some bold moves if he’s to do any better as the primaries move south.
 
This week may say more about the losers than it will the winner in Iowa. That’s typically how the first test of presidential muster follows. I personally will be watching for how Romney will treat his win and what he decides to do with it. There are plenty in the GOP establishment still sour on the smooth campaigner, and he needs to shore up that element pretty darn quickly. Obama is waiting in the wings, ready to pounce.