mark halperin, harold ford jr., governor ed rendell, wes moore, and pat buchanan down in washington. also joining us from new yorker there, ryanan, good morning. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> the ames straw poll this saturday. we know that michele bachmann by some polls is leading there in iowa. if she wins that poll, what does it mean for her and for the future of this race? >> well, i mean, i guess the way that expectations are set for her, you know, she has to win or come in second, so it's a big week for her, but i don't know. i frankly think that we place a little bit too much emphasis on the ames straw poll, which is really just a kind of silly carnival fund-raiser there in iowa that republicans use to make money. >> let's put the poll aside. let's say in a few months she wins iowa. let's talk about what that would mean for the race. >> that's a big deal. that's a big deal, right? you know, what happens if she wins iowa? i would guess that considering her background and views, there would be a concerted effort by what's left of the republican establishment to rally around one of her opponents, eit