The Des Moines Register’s headline blared the stunning news that all the nation has been aching to hear: ” It’s a tie! Voters pick Dole, Gramm.”

Supporters of Republican presidential hopeful Phil Gramm took the results of the “unofficial” Iowa straw poll as a positive sign that his campaign may grind down the efforts of political rival Bob Dole. Perhaps they should have taken the entire event known as the “Iowa Republican Caucus Kickoff” held in Ames for what it was: a really big pep rally and fund-raiser, garnering an Iowa record $250,000.

Supporters of Dole shouldn’t feel threatened by the political upstarts breathing down his neck, nor should the other Republican candidates regard this straw poll as a solid indicator of their standing in this race. Nor should voters take much stock in this straw poll, nor in the whole gathering.

With each candidate allowed a very brief amount of time to address the Hilton Coliseum crowd of approximately 10,000, it was difficult to really determine the worth of each candidate.

Basically, this “Caucus Kickoff” was a lot of hullaboo that, while did much to fortify Republican support, did little to answer the questions of the undecided. The candidates will need to plumb the depths of their ideology in the coming year to truly give American, not just Republican voters, solid indicators on how to vote, and not just more soundbites and sign waving.