Skipping the straw polls

It looks like Rudi Giuliani and John McCain will both skip the Iowa Republican straw poll this summer. The straw poll has no real meaning, but it does require campaigns to be on the ball. Fiscally speaking, the move makes sense: candidates have to spend a lot of time, money and campaign resources for what is essentially a non-binding "where do we stand right now" sort of poll. Both candidates clearly feel their resources are better spent elsewhere.

I think this is a foolish move on their parts, however. Both claim they are dedicated to winning Iowa in January, but skipping the straw poll sends a different message about how important Iowa is to the candidates. And while the raw number of delegates from Iowa likely isn't going to make the difference in who gets the nomination, winning the Iowa caucus could give another candidate - such as Mitt Romney or Fred Thompson - a lot of momentum heading into New Hampshire and the February Superprimaries. And in elections, momentum is everything.