Ron Paul beats Giuliani but loses to Fox News

(Los Angeles Times) - OK, he didn't get the third place that Ron Paul said he thought his campaign might reach in Iowa. He got fifth, 10%. Which, as we noted earlier, is better than the 4% that Rudy Giuliani got. But then like most Americans, Rudy didn't put that much effort into campaigning in Iowa.

The next big test comes Tuesday in New Hampshire, where the libertarian-like license plate -- Live Free or Die -- gives Paulunteers hope they might score an even larger surprise. Everybody except good ol' boy Fred Thompson has put serious efforts into the Granite state.

John McCain, who won New Hampshire in 2000, seems to be closing in on Mitt Romney there. Rudy is trying hard. If he can tear himself away from being on one national TV show after another, Iowa GOP caucus winner Mike Huckabee will campaign there. But without the large cadre of resident Christian evangelicals he had in Iowa, he's trailing and hanging on, hoping for Baptist help come South Carolina.

But before the Big Vote comes the Big Debate. Fox News has invited five famous Republicans to a modified house trailer for a televised debate Sunday. They did not invite Rep. Paul, which has infuriated many people and not all of them Paul supporters, as you may have read in hundreds of comments on this blog recently.