In the height of the battle it is very difficult to see things which, when the smoke has cleared, are obvious. For the Trump team, and supporters this is very much the case.
Among the "Seven things we learned from Iowa" there are points particularly pertinent to the Trump campaign, specifically;
In a "retail politics" state/environment there is no substitute for being on the ground, with a large and dedicated support team and volunteer personnel for a long period of time.
Crowd size means nothing as does campaign "sensations/diversions" like the flap over Cruz's "fail
letters."
Polls/schmolls. Pundits/columnists are not worth anything.
You have to spend money on advertising. Don't skip debates.
Given that the Trump campaign team were deficient in all these areas the fact that Trump finished second and is only one delegate behind Cruz is a tribute to his sheer force of personality which got him into second place.
I believe Trump correct in going against the advice he skip Iowa as clearly Rubio would have gotten away from him. The Giuliani campaign disaster of sitting back in Florida and skipping Iowa shows Trump was right. It is now clear that, despite the polls, Trump had a very uphill challenge in Iowa and did remarkably well under the circumstances and in the teeth of a massively biased media.
Trump is no stranger to adversity and possesses a sharp mind and is a quick learner. Iowa will have given him many insights into campaigning at which, compared to all the other candidates, he has been a novice.We will see a different Trump in New Hampshire.
Trump's dignified concession speech in Iowa was a pointer, I believe to a forthcoming image of a sharply issues focused candidate. The early campaign attacks have worked in removing Bush, Fiorina, Walker, Perry, Jindal from contention now it is time to deal with Cruz and Rubio on the issues. Let the marketing team deal with them, vehemently and with much money behind it, on the air.
Iowa is an unusual state and few GOP winners have gone on to the nomination. If Trump had taken the full blown Evangelical route that Cruz did he may have won the state and subsequently have been seen as such a narrow focused candidate his appeal, like that of Huckabee and Santorum, would have been a negative for most other states.
Trump could head the wisdom of Bob Dylan "there is no success like failure" review the lessons from Iowa and commence his winning campaign in New Hampshire.
