Obama, Iowa and the Primary Schedule
Obama’s victory in Iowa was impressive. It was enough to throw the Clinton campaign off its game, and the portion of last night’s New Hampshire debate that I saw, and Senator Clinton herself. By contrast, in the debate both Edwards and Obama seemed confident, cool, and calm.
Bear in mind that the Iowa winner isn’t necessarily the nominee. Iowa matters because it’s first, because it creates momentum. Obama pulled off an impressive victory in Iowa, but Iowa is not a bellwether state.
Come down it, neither is New Hampshire. Both states are important because they’re early, not because they represent any sort of guide to the mood of the nation. Both states emphasize retail politics - they want to see the candidates up close and personal and alot.
I will wholeheartedly support whoever wins the Democratic nomination but FWIW I think Iowa voters on Thursday sent a clear message by choosing Obama and that message was “We are tired of politics as usual. We’re tired to endless failures and a political system enmeshed in the wrong things and unable to deal with the things that matter.” And that is a difficult message for Hillary Clinton. It is a message against which she has no defense since, among the Dems, she is clearly the candidate of “how things are.”
January 6th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Obama didn’t do it all by himself. I’m giving a prop or two to Dennis Kucinich - who after struggling with the corporate media and getting nowhere, finally gets some press for throwing his action toward Barrak. Makes one wonder, dunnit?
Whoever breaks-out on the Dem side the pubs will shread and swiftboat heartlessly in an attempt to retain the WH. Just the way they are.
January 6th, 2008 at 11:59 am
All those high-priced consultants, and Hillary couldn’t figure out that 2008 would be a “change election”? She knows it now.
January 6th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Hey I know it is elections and all, and of course about the coldest winter in the last 20 years, but could we please have a top post on some more global warming “science”?
My theory is that all the politicos I have heard the last few months have sucked all the oxygen out of the atmosphere, which accounts for the higher % of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Well, it appears that 2008 will be the year the anthropogenic warming theory dies a cold death
January 6th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Caveat,
You’re right. Obama didn’t do it by himself. Most of his organization is made up of volunteers. And not just the ones in Iowa, but across the nation, individual people helped make the Iowa victory happen, and will be part of the reason for his other victories, too. :)
January 6th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Yes, Misty, there are all the unsung. Bless their hearts. And thanks for the reminder. I just think DK was among them.
January 6th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Richard - what’s interesting to me is the way the Clinton campaign has reacted to Iowa - watching her in the debate last night she really looked like she’s off her game and her whole campaign is off their game. I really think that she and her advisors figured she was change enough from Bush and got caught flat footed.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - I think an Edwards/Obama or Obama/Edwards ticket would be amazing!
Misty - Obama’s campaign is made up of amazing volunteers nationwide and the campaign is great at communicating with them and keeping them motivated.
January 7th, 2008 at 12:21 am
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/01/06/br_r_r_where_did_global_warming_go/?p1=email_to_a_friend
The latest on anthropogenic global warming.