[iron81]

Straw polls are largely bunk in terms of judging candidate strength. Notice how Romney won in Iowa but finished a distant 3rd in the telephone polls. This is because the straw polls are much more about how big your organization is and how much effort you are willing to put in. They aren't completely worthless because the media loves to cover the horserace and doing well will get you some press coverage. Witness Huckabee's rise in the polls.