There is an important bright sie to the Iowa caucus, record voter turnout with Obama bringing in a large contingent of young voters. According to the Des Moines Register, 346,000 voters, I guess the correct term is “caucus-goers,” came out last night. The big bright side, 234,000 of them were Democrats. If this can hold true all the way though November we could have one hell of an election.
OK, so Hillary Clinton came in a distant third behind Barak Obama and one point behind John Edwards, so what does that mean? Hell, if I know, but I certainly wouldn’t count Mrs. Clinton out just yet. When’s the last time Iowa picked the eventual party nominee for either the Republicans or Democrats? I mean, does anyone truly believe Mike Huckabee will be the eventual Republican nominee? From what little I understand of New Hampshire politics Mrs. Clinton may have the upper hand there. People definitely want change, nearly 8 years of president Bush have pushed that idea to the forefront of people’s minds, but do they want the kind of change Messrs. Obama and Edwards offer? For me, the answer is yes, but I’m not indicative the the nation.
I’ve liked Obama from the beginning and he’s the only primary candidate to whom I’ve donated money. That certainly doesn’t mean I would vote for either of the top three candidates. Whether or not a Democrat can win in November depends a lot on who the Republicans put forward, I think. Mrs. Clinton would be hard for any of them to beat, even Giuliani and Romney. Edwards could probably hold his own, but I think Obama’s lack of experience could hurt him against the likes of Giuliani and Romney. McCain? Well, I just don’t know. I don’t want to be offensive by saying this, but I do think his age works against him, and there are only so many times you can trot out the hero label before it stops meaning anything to voters. Moreover, Mr. McCain’s unwavering support for the war in Iraq works against him even in his own party.
Oh, well, one election down, far too many to go. The next one could bring a complete reveral of fortune for the top three Dem candidates.