Huckabee beats Romney, Palin in soon to be forgotten poll

Although some of their supporters might beg to differ, there's no difference between a 74 and a 71 here. This isn't the PGA. At this stage, it's all a tie. And it will all be forgotten shortly.

But if you get down in the weeds, Palin's numbers are notable. Some may argue that she performed poorly. But she, unlike the other second place finishers, didn't attend. She was in Alaska welcoming home her son Track from duty in Iraq. Plus, it's been anything but a smooth year for the 2008 vice presidential nominee.

Huckabee can be pleased with the results. Sure, he's got the home field advantage here. But, remember, he lost to Romney at a similar event back in 2007. It's a good outing for Pawlenty who electrified the crowd on Friday night. It's good for Mike Pence too, who would inevitably sport the lowest name recognition of any of the candidates.

Drilling down further, it's also notable that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich received only 40 votes -- but he didn't attend the conference. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal isn't connecting -- at least with this crowd -- pulling down 28 votes. And former Senator Rick Santorum and Texas Congressman Ron Paul take up the rear with 15 and 13 votes respectively.

Oh yeah, the crowd really liked Carrie Prejean too. You remember her -- the former Miss California title holder. She gave a speech on Friday night that drew the crowd to its feet. But she hasn't signaled her interest in running for the presidency. And then there's that eligibility thing. She couldn't be on the ballot until 2024 anyway.

In terms of issues, as this was a conference for social and religious conservatives it's not surprising that abortion was cited as the most important concern with 41 percent of attendees citing it as their top concern. Protection of religious liberties came in at second with 18 percent of the vote. And opposition to same-sex marriage was a distant third with seven percent citing it as the top issue.

All in all, does it mean much? Nope. But it gives a glimpse into what some social conservatives are thinking. And it provides an outlet for those who aren't interested in football (do these people really exist?).

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