Updated: 01/04/08 

Kentucky watched with anticipation as the first votes were made for the next President of the United States. The northern Kentucky area is as evenly split as  the rest of the nation apparently. And the results look to be about the same no matter where you are. This should be read as an omen for Republicans like Mitch McConnell and Ron Lewis. A tide is building...and it is historic: Barack Obama has won the Iowa primary where every expectation was a tight three way race...and boy, it delivered! Boxing fans should appreciate this night. 

There's no getting around the historic nature of this win, but "history" is sort of a given when your front runners are the first serious female and minority contenders for the top spot.

Either way you slice this result, it's a sign of a good thing. As a supporter of Hillary Clinton, I am not saddened by her strong finish. In many ways, this is going to make the race for the nomination more comfortable for her. Democrats in general are very happy with our field of candidates, and I would be just as happy supporting the campaigns of Sen's Edwards or Obama should either eventually win the nomination. Any of the three would make, in my opinion, fine leaders.

Now, down to the important part: Iowa doesn't determine anything. It is simply a measuring stick for "right now". It's simply a marker. Yes, I would be pointing this out if Clinton had won this primary. And I will point it out as she continues into New Hampshire. Not including Iowa, there are 28 primaries in total. 

The numbers: A breakdown for those just catching up.

There are roughly 2500 democratic delegates in Iowa. Of them, Obama won over 800. Clinton and Edwards ran neck and neck with just under 700 each. This brings the numbers out to 37% - 30% - 30% respectively.

This is a victory for the Democratic party as a whole. The only part of this entire campaign that perplexes me is how the Clinton team hasn't pointed out the obvious: "Change" is not a platform. As long as it's a Democrat in the White House, we're going  to get "change". Doesn't matter which one.

This is where "experience" comes into play. Clinton certainly has it, like it or not, agree with it or not.  You don't have to like her record, but at least she has one. That's important to me. Most of the problems Liberals have with her and her husband were things that many would call "compromise". I've heard all of the arguments, and they're mostly correct. I'll give that up right out of the gate. 

When you have a nearly 30 year political legacy, there are going to be some problems. And on the whole, the decisions have been correct...even when unpopular. The popular decisions are the ones that get the Clintons into trouble.

John Edwards has a good heart, and he's making a strong run, but he's going to run out of steam.  

It's a real shame that characters like Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich get locked out, but it's not the fault of the "media". The "media" only hammers us with their coverage of certain candidates, but the information about the others is available online, or in many other places, should a person decide to do a little...work?

You can't blame "the media" for an uneducated and disinterested American public.  

As for Clinton, this finish was a strong 1/3 of the vote, and I think we'll see more of this as the campaign progresses. Clinton will win some, Obama will win others, and Edwards might even win a couple. By no means does one night make a candidacy though. Clinton has to examine her campaign, her message, and move on to New Hampshire. What's great is that we all win. I will be supporting the eventual nominee, and it won't be like 2004. John Kerry was...not a candidate that I was enthusiastic about. That's a massive understatement. But this time around, not the same thing. 

I'll also remind you, dear reader, that Bill Clinton didn't win Iowa either. Paul Tsongas did. We all know how that turned out. A finish like this might simply take some of the front-runner pressure off of the Clinton team and allow them breathing room to fine tune her message for the next round. This also might allow her to play the gender card in a way that wasn't possible before: "If we want the first female President, we're going to have to fight for it!"

This is the sort of stuff that our grandchildren will be learning about someday. In a twisted sort of way, 8 years under Bush might have a positive effect. It just might force Americans to engage in the political arena as never before to prevent such a tyrant from ever taking the White House again. The Bush presidency might just be so bad, that he might have inoculated us against making such a mistake in the near future. Let's hope. 

Did anyone else think it was odd that Edwards didn't congratulate Obama on the win? Not very sporting.   

Obama supporters: Congrats! Well Done!

Edwards supporters: Congrats! Sort Of Well Done!

Clinton Supporters: Get To Work! :)

-Chuck 

---