AMES -- Ron Paul's floor show is both the most excited and the largest so far. Master of Ceremonies Laura Ingraham had to urge the crowd to be quiet before she would introduce him. "The inmates have left the asylum," she said.

Offering a Longhorn salute to his fans, Paul addressed them more than the assembled Republicans. "Our campaign is based on freedom, prosperity and peace," Paul opened, winning rabid applause from the floor but a more tepid response from the bleachers.

Paul's dedication to the Constitution gives him a following, and by targeting his speech to the crowd in Hilton Coliseum, he turns them from loyal Republicans into attendees at a WWE wrestling match. "I think 9/11 could have been prevented if we'd had a lot more respect for the Second Amendment," he said, as the crowd goes nuts. A minute or so later: "We need to make sure that home schoolers and private schools are never attacked by our government." Paul's call to repeal the 16th Amendment and abolish the IRS brought down the house. (Video here.)

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, judging by the song to which he entered, is walking on sunshine. Introduced by 2006 Iowa Lieutenant Governor candidate Bob Vander Plaats and former South Carolina David Beasley, Huckabee appeared in a suit, after playing one set with his band, and promptly made a Michael Vick joke (admittedly the first we've heard).

Huckabee began by virtually admitting to the crowd that he needs to do well today. "I can't buy you. I can't even rent you," he told voters. But there's hope. "The straw poll is not about electing a straw man." Iowa voters, Huckabee said, "are buying the cereal, and not just the box." (Video here.)

Hitting common Republican themes, Huckabee does it better than everyone else. His speaking style resonates, thanks to his career as a Baptist minister, his analogies are more memorable than any other (He says, for example, that the Fair Tax is so simple that even a 7 year old running a lemonade stand could use it) and his stories are moving and powerful (His daughter's reaction to a tour of a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem silenced the crowd so much we thought we heard pins drop).

But in the end, it comes back to whether his campaign has the organizational skill to win over the votes he'll need today. "Give me your vote today in this straw poll and let's change this process in America," he closed. As the song says, "I used to think maybe you loved me, now I know that it's true." If Huckabee wants to keep his campaign going, he'll need it to be true.

California Congressman Duncan Hunter has to win the award for being most concerned with China. We've noticed of late that more Republicans are referring to "communist China," and Hunter is leading the charge. The former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's most important issue is the troops. (Video here.)

From Iraq ("We will win in Iraq") to Iran ("I will not allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon") to China, Russia and the border ("If you can climb my fence, we send you to the Olympics immediately"), Hunter is the Lou Dobbs candidate. "I will never apologize for the United States of America," he said, winning what may have been the loudest applause of the day. From a military family, Hunter outflanks even John McCain in support for the war in Iraq. His low standing may be further evidence that Republicans love the troops but are growing increasingly uneasy with the war.

Up next: Tommy Thompson