Straw Poll

SATURDAY AUG 14 AMES IOWA

If you're naked, hungry and like to dance, Ames, Iowa, is the place to be this Saturday, especially for Republicans. G.O.P. presidential candidates want your support in the quadrennial straw poll--a voting exercise with the precision and meaning of a Ouija board that has taken on life-or-death significance for some candidates. To entice lever pullers, campaigns have bought scores of tickets ($25 a head), hauled supporters across the state on fleets of free air-conditioned buses, and bedecked the faithful with hats, shirts and stickers. The afternoon promises to be a toe-tapping jamboree as attendees gorge themselves on pulled pork and sweet...

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