Mark Leibovich watched [1]a Republican caucus in Clive, Iowa, and described a call for speakers on behalf of each candidate:
"Last call for a Duncan Hunter speaker? And a Tom Tancredo speaker? No one.
"People fill out their cards, turn them in. Don Dewaay, who owns the firm holding the event, put out a plea for donations to the Republican Party of Polk County. 'This is why you need to give,' he said, and clicked an unflattering photo of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the New York Democrat, onto the big screen.
"Ms. Hermann summoned a representative of each campaign and began to tally the cards. Nearly two-thirds of the room has emptied by the time Ms. Hermann announced the results. Mr. Romney won the precinct with 179 votes, and Mr. McCain finished second with 109. They were followed by Mr. Huckabee, 78; Mr. Thompson, 48; Mr. Giuliani, 45; Mr. Paul, 22; and none for Mr. Hunter or Mr. Tancredo."
One problem: The anti-immigrant crusader Tancredo withdrew [2]from the race [2]back on December 19, endorsing Mitt Romney. Leibovich didn't mention that, apparently failing to notice the error made by the local GOP, which Leibovich, a purveyor [3]of sarcastic personality profiles (think of a poor man's Dana [4] Milbank [4]) would have ordinarily pounced on.