The Web on the Candidates

It's good to be back! The, er, south Pacific (or was that the north Atlantic?) was splendid.

The Ames Straw Poll results are in, and Mitt Romney has won handily, with 31% of the vote.  The big story, though, is Mike Huckabee's surprising second-place finish, which came despite a relative lack of money and resources. Meanwhile, Sam Brownback finished a disappointing third, just a couple of points ahead of Tom "Let's bomb their holy sites" Tancredo, and six points ahead of Ron Paul, who finished fifth, proving that his fanatical online support has yet to move offline.

An in-depth look at the online warfare preceding the Ames Straw Poll tomorrow, including the return of mini-Mitt, the ultimate test for Ron Paul's online movement, and digital dirty tricks. Plus, an exclusive look at Barack Obama's new interactive video banner ads, and Fred Thompson courts the "safe online transactions" vote.