Ankeny, Iowa

The frown on Kentucky senator Rand Paul’s face said it all. A third place finish was not what Ron Paul, his son, and his supporters were expecting Tuesday night. Although Paul finished just four points behind the winner(s) in last night’s caucus–doubling his support from 2008–the results just didn’t live up to expectations.

When he addressed the crowd at the Courtyard hotel ballroom in Ankeny, Paul put on a happy face, thanking his supporters and touting the fact that he had one of the “three tickets” out of Iowa. But there was a hint of sadness in Paul’s voice, a sign things didn’t turn out as he thought they would. The polls had shown Paul coming in first or second. While the first third of votes were being tabulated, he was running neck-and-neck with Romney and Santorum. The Texas congressman himself predicted on Sunday: “I doubt if I’ll come in third or fourth.” The entrance poll showed Paul winning Iowa.