The two frontrunners are not the two frontrunners

Reason’s Jesse Walker looks at the Iowa caucus numbers:

The results are in from the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa, and Michele Bachmann has emerged victorious with 4,823 votes. Ron Paul, the only bearable candidate in the running (*), finished a very close second with 4,671.

That asterisk stands for Gary Johnson, who ran technically but not literally. (Or would that be literally but not virtually? Anyway, he was on the ballot, but did not campaign.)

As to frontrunner Mitt Romney, he was beaten by another frontrunner who wasn’t technically running, but who ran virtually anyway:

Perry didn’t have an official presence at the straw poll, but he nonetheless attracted 718 write-in votes — better than frontrunner Mitt Romney’s 567.

FWIW, I don’t think Michele Bachmann or Ron Paul will be the nominee.

I think Sarah Palin is smart to stay out of the race at this point, and I like her approach of simply being there without really being there (as opposed to Perry’s not being there while being there).

The whole game is a bit surreal. To be is not to be.