A win for Romney in Iowa, or NH for that matter, is barely a win. It doesn’t give him much momentum. If he wins in SC, then we have something.
Anything but a decisive outright victory in IA and NH does little for Giuliani or McCain as they are still perceived as front runners. They are in the most dangerous position as a bunch of 2nd and 3rd place results do nothing for them.
For anybody else, a placing in the top 3 will bring huge momentum to that candidate. And anyone winning SC that’s not Rudy McRomney will likely not be looking back from there.
This race is ripe for an upset.
No way. A win for any frontrunner is good for them. They score points and eat up some of the clock.