According to you, the Republican presidential race currently boils down to three potential nominees, but you admit that another one might still enter the game (“After the Straw Poll,” August 20, 2011). Much of the article is dedicated to Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney. And Bachmann just won the straw poll in Ames, Iowa. As you point out, it is an unreliable predictor of the winner of the Iowa caucuses, let alone the Republican nomination. Or the presidency. The straw vote is nothing but a sideshow, anyhow. To wit, it is too early in the game to say much about any of the presidential candidates. But it is still surprising that Sarah Palin is mentioned only briefly close to the end of your article. If Barack Obama is vulnerable, it is her he has to worry about. For the time being, though, she is out of the game. She is looking for the right moment to join the fray. But there is hardly any doubt that you will be paying her much more attention in a short while. Which is when the Punch and Judy show of American politics will start in earnest. What a show this will be, too.