Mike Huckabee

Here's a piece today from the Wash Post's front page. Seems that Mike Huckabee's surge in Iowa has been in part of a vast gressroots network of conservative Christian/home school parent types. One key quote is that "In the first nine months of the campaign, Romney ran more that 5,000 ads on Iowa television. Huckabee ran none."

Now they're neck and neck, with Huckabee having a slight lead. Huckabee's supporters used one-to-one mail and email lists to spread the word. They did most of the work...sort of like Howard Dean's "Deaniacs" did back in 2003.

In the meantime, Romney relied on - because he had to - traditional methods backed up by big spending. His strategy may have made sense - he knew he's do well in next-door New Hampshire, and had to expand beyond that BUT the key here is that a form of social media (email) is blowing away, pound for pound, top heavy traditional media.