Do not buy into the media hype that Mitt Romney is in serious trouble of losing the GOP nomination.

In the wake of last night’s surprising “almost” victory by Rick Santorum in the Iowa caucuses, the former Pennsylvania senator has become the flavor of the day. The media and all the talking heads on cable TV and going on and on about the weakness this shows in Romney’s candidacy and the split in the Republican party. They are intimating that we now have a real horse for the nomination.

Let’s be clear, Santorum’s showing in Iowa was impressive. He should be congratulated on running a stellar campaign on a shoestring budget to pull off what until recently seemed implausible. But, that is no way means he is a threat to Romney for the nomination.

Here’s the problem for Santorum, his campaign was focused almost exclusively on Iowa, to the detriment of the other 49 states. In a previous day, when money didn’t matter as much and the campaign calendar was more spread out, it’s possible his strategy of win the first state, build up momentum, and let that carry you to the nomination might have worked. But, this isn’t 1976.

Instead, Santorum’s woefully underfunded and understaffed campaign that has little to no organization in any other state outside of Iowa. And he faces a behemoth, otherwise known as Romney Inc. The Romney campaign has almost been flawless to date. It’s raising money, spending money carefully, strategically placing the candidate and surrogates, organizing at the grassroots, and playing in every state. It is a very well run campaign.

On the flip side, Santorum isn’t even on the ballot in some states, including Virginia where he didn’t submit one signature, never mind the 10,000 required signatures.

There is too much ground for Santorum to make up and not enough time to do it.

Simply put, campaigns matter. In my years of covering politics the best campaign almost always wins. Usually, the best campaign has the most money, but not always. Money isn’t the be all, end all. But, a stellar campaign is. The best campaign won in the Allen/Webb Senate contest, Warner/Gilmore Senate contest, McDonnell/Deeds gubernatorial contest, Kaine/Kilgore gubernatorial contest, Warner/Earley gubernatorial contest, the Allen/Robb Senate contest, and the Obama/Clinton presidential primary… to name a few.

Is it possible Romney will stumble badly? Yes. Is it possible for Santorum or some other candidate to knock off Romney? Yes. But the odds are stacked against it. Santorum started yesterday as an extreme long shot for the GOP nomination. He starts today, the day after the Iowa caucuses, with a little more strut to his step, but still a long shot.