"Oh, who wants to listen to them? They don't make sense," said Gingrich supporter Nancy Lebischak, who'd come to the reception with her husband. "Bah humbug."

A tough finish in a hard Iowa race was hardly any surprise, after all; if there were to be any surprises tonight, they would be saved for the candidates -- Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum -- knotted up with one another at the top.