Is it any coincidence that Rudy Giuliani has announced not one, but two Hollywood endorsements in the last 24 hours? As Fred Thompson prepares to kick-off his campaign tour today in Iowa, Camp Rudy says the former New York City mayor has picked up support from actors Robert Duvall and Ron Silver. Now we aren’t going to rag on Duvall one bit. He’s an Academy Award winner, starred in"The Godfather " I and II--two of your Gaggler’s favorite films (and Rudy’s too, we hear)--and even looks a little bit like Giuliani, we must say. Ron Silver, Rudy’s other Hollywood get, is, well, eh--unless you think"Oh God! You Devil!" was an unappreciated gem of 1980s comedy gold, and in that case, our bad.

The news here is that Rudy, in a very politics-isn’t-much-different-from-high-school way, is talking up endorsements from two guys who have worked with Hollywood Fred--though there’s no mention of this in the campaign’s press releases, of course. Duvall starred with Thompson in “Days of Thunder,” while Silver lists several episodes of “Law & Order” to his credit. It’s almost certain that Duvall or Silver, should they hit the cable TV shows in support of their man Rudy, will surely be asked about Thompson’s acting (and political) abilities. What will they say? Who knows, but it’s likely only a matter of time before Rudy’s campaign touts the checks they’ve gotten from other Hollywood notables, like Kelsey Grammar and Adam Sandler. Of course, that’s nothing compared to Sam Brownback’s recent Hollywood get: an endorsement from Stephen Baldwin, Alec’s brother and star of “Bio-Dome.” How will Thompson ever top that? Two words: Pauly Shore.

Out Front: Romney. Photo: Khue Bui for Newsweek 

They didn't have to bring in Katherine Harris, but it almost felt that way. Results from the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa were delayed more than an hour, after one of the Diebold machines used to tally the votes malfunctioned forcing a recount of 1,500 ballots. (Déjà vu, anyone?) No surprise, the big winner was Mitt Romney, who got 4,516 (or 32 percent of the vote).

But the big headline of the night was Mike Huckabee's second place finish. The former Arkansas governor, who barely ranks on many national polls, finished with 18 percent of the vote, or 2,587 votes. Romney finished well ahead, but Huckabee's victory was notable because the former Arkansas governor spent almost nothing on his get out the vote efforts. While Romney and rival Sam Brownback (who finished a disappointing 3rd place, with 15 percent of the vote) each had more than 100 buses bring in supporters, Huckabee's campaign operated on the cheap. "No buses... we couldn't afford it," a jubilant Huckabee told reporters afterwards. "It's David and Goliath and a smooth stone. That's the only way I can explain it."

How did the frontrunners do? Rudy Giuliani, up in most national polls, declined to participate in the straw vote, and he got only 183 votes (1 percent) out of the 14,302 ballots cast. John McCain got 101 votes, while Fred Thompson got 1.4 percent with 203 votes. It's hard to say if the poll results will do much in terms of winnowing the field. Tommy Thompson, who finished in fourth place, has said he would drop out if he didn't finish in the top three. And all eyes will surely be on Brownback, who spent a lot of money to attract votes at Ames but in the end had little to show for it.

Remember all that downplaying the Romney campaign did on the eve of the vote? Well, on one hand, they were right. The number of overall ballots cast were down more than half compared to 2000, when George W. Bush easily won the poll. Yet, just as your Gaggler predicted, that didn't dampen the Romney camp's excitement, which quickly touted the former governor's "overwhelming victory." We'll have to wait until October to find out how much Romney spent per vote cast-ditto for the other campaigns. But one thing is clear: Romney and Huckabee are almost in the same boat. Both camps are hoping the Ames result will spark some momentum heading into fall, especially among voters outside of Iowa where both have struggled to catch fire. The ballots may be counted, but the judgment on whether the Ames Straw Poll waned in influence this year is still out.

It's not easy being on a diet when you're at the Iowa State Fair. Just ask Mike Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor dropped more than 200 pounds before he jumped in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. On Friday, he gave a speech at the fair in a last-minute attempt to woo voters on the eve of the Ames Straw Poll. Going to the Iowa fair is considered a right of passage for anyone with White House ambitions. Ditto for testing out the food, which includes everything from funnel cakes to deep fried pickles. How can Huckabee, now a healthy heart evangelist, resist all the transfat temptations? Huckabee admits it's tough going, but says he plans to follow a basic rule. "If it wasn't a food 100 years ago, it's not a food today," he told your Gaggler. In other words, corn dogs are out. "We'll let you have that," he said. (Thanks, but we've already had two.) All around us, the air was thick with the soul satisfying aroma of artery hardening treats. But Huckabee, like any wartime Commander in Chief In Waiting, stayed the course. "I saw the Fried Twinkie booth over there. he said with firm resolve. "You aren't going to see me in that line." He also vetoed some of the fair's more exotic offerings, including the potato lollypop--"Potato what?" he said, and waved it away.

Huckabee's fortitude is, on the one hand, admirable. But for voters in Iowa, it may also hint at a troubling, Bush-like stubborn streak--a refusal to admit when he's wrong and make course corrections when the facts on the ground demand them. Case in point: Huckabee, who proclaims himself a patriot, outright refused even a single forkful of the fair's proudest culinary achievement: the sublime Hot Beef Sundae. This siren song of mashed potatoes smothered with chipped beef, cheese and gravy is so deeply, Americanly delicious that just one bite is enough to make all who taste it place their hands on their hearts and spontaneously recite the National Anthem. Yet Huckabee was unmoved by its obvious appeal. "You've got to be kidding me," he said incredulously when your Gaggler tried to tempt him. "My gosh. Even in my fattest days, that doesn't appeal to me." So sad. But then, perhaps sensing that Republican straw poll voters might think twice about the bona fides of a candidate who goes to a fair and orders salad, Huckabee went off in search of manly fare that wouldn't betray his principals. "I'm looking for meat," he said. "A pork chop. That's something good and decent."

What’s the secret behind Mitt Romney’s surge in the Iowa polls? Maybe it’s the food. The former Massachusetts governor has been pulling out all the stops to win this weekend’s Ames Straw Poll, blanketing Iowa with new TV ads and organizing buses to get supporters to the polls on Saturday. But his campaign is also throwing lots of money behind free food. On Wednesday, Romney held one of his "Ask Mitt Anything" town halls at a restaurant outside Iowa City, where prospective Romney supporters were treated to a free buffet. And we’re not talking sandwiches or finger food. Think Las Vegas style: shrimp cocktail, platters of steak, pasta salad, mashed potatoes and at least 10 different kinds of dessert, including strawberry cheesecake, brownies and multi-layer chocolate cake. Compare this to Duncan Hunter, who’s spent the past few days campaigning outside McDonald's restaurants around the state, where sad to say he wasn’t handing out Big Macs.

Wooing voters’ hearts through their stomachs is nothing new, especially in Iowa where presidential candidates are judged not only by their foreign policy skills but by their ability to flip a pancake. But you have to wonder: Are these people showing up for the candidate or for the free lunch? Romney held four food-related events on Wednesday and has five on his schedule today, including two coffees and an ice cream social. No word on what he’s planning to feed his supporters in Ames-though he’s already got competition from Sam Brownback, who’s talked up his barbecue, and Mike Huckabee, who is air-lifting a 150-pound watermelon in from Arkansas.

John McCain’s presidential campaign may be struggling, but he’s getting some love on the trail in Iowa. Stumping near Mason City on Monday, Rudy Giuliani praised the Arizona senator, not once but twice, telling his audience that if he weren’t waging his own bid for the White House that he’d be campaigning for McCain. “He’d be my candidate,” Giuliani said, telling voters, among other things, that he agrees with McCain’s position on Iraq. “I admire the man tremendously.”

That’s some serious sweet talk, considering Rudy was out touting his own bid for the White House. In fact, his declaration prompted some surprised looks among audience members, including reporters on the scene. After all, it was less than two months ago that Giuliani and McCain got into a big time fight over immigration reform. Rudy was no fan of a McCain-sponsored bill in the Senate, trashing it during June’s CNN GOP debate as a “typical Washington mess.” That prompted an angry response from McCain, who snittily suggested that Giuliani should read the bill before criticizing it.

Sam Brownback is really on a roll. First, as The Gaggle reported earlier, he picked a fight with Mitt Romney and Tom Tancredo, paying for phone calls to Iowa voters trashing their conservative credentials. Now, with the Ames Straw Poll a little more than a week away, Brownback is trying to put the smack down on Mike Huckabee--and The Huck is smacking back. Now, your Gaggler wasn't even going to go there, because come on, two guys with poll numbers in single digits dragging each other through the mud isn't exactly race-changing news. But it's suddenly gotten all WWE or something.

It all started earlier this week, when the Brownback campaign got wind of a letter that Iowa Rev. Tim Rude, a prominent evangelical pastor and Huckabee supporter, sent to a few other church leaders in the state. In it, Rude talked up Huckabee for being a Southern Baptist and trashed Brownback for being a Catholic. "Frankly, as a recovering Catholic myself, that is all I need to know about his discernment compared to (Huckabee's)," Rude wrote. Confronted with the email on Tuesday, Rude apologized, saying his remarks weren't meant for public consumption, and they weren't intended to be "anti-Catholic." Afterwards Huckabee, in a statement, said that he was glad Rude apologized. "They were not authorized by, disseminated by, approved by, or condoned by the campaign," Huckabee said, noting that many of his staffers are Catholic. But that wasn't enough for the Brownback campaign, which demanded a more explicit apology from the former Arkansas governor. "Does Governor Huckabee denounce Pastor Rude's anti-Catholic comments, or not?" a Brownback spokesman told reporters Wednesday.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama aren't the only presidential wannabes caught up in a war of words. On the GOP side, there's a nasty catfight brewing between Mitt Romney and- Sam Brownback? The Kansas senator and longshot presidential hopeful has played it nice on the campaign trail to date. But as pressure to break out of the pack or pack it in intensifies, Brownback has gone on the attack in recent weeks, repeatedly questioning Romney's conservative credentials on everything from agriculture policies to abortion.

Two weeks ago, Brownback issued a snarky (at least for him) press release proposing a new word for the dictionary: "Mitt-amorphasis." (Get it?) Brownback's definition: "A self-directed and self-contradictory cyclical process, occurring in even-numbered years, by which a Massachusetts politician transforms at will." Among the word's proposed synonyms, according to the Brownback campaign, was "John Kerry." Zing! Romney's camp did what anyone regarded as a first-tier presidential contender would do: They largely ignored the attacks. But that didn't stop Brownback, who has since issued at least two releases a week attacking Romney's "ocean of contradiction." Earlier this week, Brownback upped the ante, paying for a series of automated phone calls to Iowa voters questioning Romney's stance on abortion. "Mitt Romney is telling Iowans he is firmly pro-life," the message says, according to AP. "Nothing could be further from the truth." Among other things, the message mentions that Romney's wife, Ann, "has contributed money to Planned Parenthood." Calling the calls "despicable," Romney's campaign called on Brownback to apologize. (Brownback's campaign also paid for calls questioning fellow longshot Tom Tancredo's abortion position.)

From today's New York Times:

Essay Linking Liberal Jews and Anti-Semitism Sparks a Furor