I wouldn't call it quite yet. Cruz took this one because of the evangelical vote. Trump catering to that demographic is kind of hilarious; I'm guessing he is as legitimately religious as I am. But I'm not surprised by him taking second place to Cruz here.

I don't think Iowa is a very good litmus test for the GOP. We need to see more. One thing about elections, they can shift quickly. Anything can happen, especially this far out.

I thought Rubio would be the pick a few months ago, but Trump came in like bulldozer and knocked everything down. If it were a more establishment type setting, then yes I'd say Rubio or Bush. But who the hell knows anymore. The GOP do have a history of courting those outside the beltway initially and then falling back into line near the end. Trump's staying power has long exceeded the previous patterns, so I felt he was more of a contender (as did many unhappy GOP elites) than the Bachmans and Santorums of the past.

Trump is the main attraction. He would pick up a counter weight to his wrecking ball approach, not add somebody similar (who polls poorly btw.) Palin's audience has been shrinking drastically over the years, and many from the right media have come out to say they were wrong about her (and that's she's an idiot.)

I also think a Trump/Cruz ticket would hand the election over to the Dems. The establishment GOP despises Cruz immensely as well.

My two cents...

haha, then they need a new marketing department.

I guess that's the difference between the two parties: One marches in the street to protest wars, while the other marches in the street to protest the tyranny of healthcare for all.