So, Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Ames Iowa Straw poll. One might be tempted to say “So what?” but it really is of a bit of importance. Think back the first time you really noticed Rep. Bachmann.

For all the conventional wisdom of the GOP operatives that she can’t become the nominee, winning this silly straw poll and all of the coverage of it will give her a patina of respectability and inevitability. It will attract donors and volunteers that Rep. Bachmann can use to fuel a chance at winning in Iowa sometime this coming winter.