( CNN ) -- To the Republican voters in the other 49 states , I sympathize with you . It must be painful to turn on every cable and broadcast network , read the websites and follow the blogs and realize that you mean absolutely nothing when it comes to choosing a GOP nominee for president of the United States . Please , do n't even bother . Iowa has it all under control , and what happens there , and in New Hampshire , will settle the race once and for all . What a load of animal droppings on the Iowa farm fields . Conventional wisdom , which really means the opinions of the smart , politically savvy know-it-all sages in Washington , says that if you do n't win Iowa or place high there , you wo n't be able to raise the money to continue , and you might as well go home and lick your wounds . Remember when that was the standard talk in 2008 after then-Sen. Barack Obama won Iowa ? The political elites said if he beat Sen. Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire , the race was over . A lot of voters in the Granite State were offended to hear that , especially women , and backed Clinton . As a result , those two fought it out for another five months in a grueling race for the Democratic presidential nomination . It has always offended me that voters in the other states are seen as also-rans . And that 's the No . 1 reason why Michigan , Florida , Nevada and South Carolina threatened or successfully moved their primaries and caucuses : They wanted to matter , and not just accept what Iowa and New Hampshire gave them . No GOP candidate should entertain the notion of dropping out of the race based on what happens in Iowa on Tuesday night . Why end it after one state ? I bet former Minnesota Gov . Tim Pawlenty regrets dropping out after the Ames , Iowa , straw poll , which Rep. Michele Bachmann won . Was he having money issues ? Sure . But so were Bachmann , Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain . The latter two vaulted to the top of the polls based on debate performances . See , it paid to keep going . It 's true that Iowa can be a game changer if you are not expected to win . It was a huge boost for Obama in 2008 , but for past Iowa winners such as Mike Huckabee , Pat Buchanan and Paul Tsongas , it did n't lead to winning their respective party 's presidential nomination . Now I doubt Mitt Romney , Ron Paul or even Rick Santorum will slip up after Tuesday night , but no one knows for sure . We 've seen a lot of crazy things happen in this race so far . So we might as well be prepared for the unpredictable . In fact , I find it hilarious that so many folks in the chattering class say it 's all about Iowa , and Mitt Romney turns into The Dominator if he wins . Yet if Ron Paul wins , the results do n't matter . Really ? So excuse me if I sound like a contrarian by refusing to buy the media hype of putting so much on Iowa . It 's one of 50 states . It 's the first , sure . But it sure as hell should n't be the last , or even next to last , for all of the candidates . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roland Martin .
Roland Martin objects to the notion that you have to take Iowa to win . Martin : No candidate should drop out based on performance in Iowa or New Hampshire . The 48 other states must not be dismissed , he says ; changes in fortunes happen . Iowa boosted Obama , he says , but not winners Huckabee , Buchanan or Tsongas .