This was a good night for Democrats. I'm disappointed that Dean finished third at 18%, but I'm thrilled at the high turnout - it means that Democrats are energized and involved in the process. It bodes well for our GOTV efforts for whomever the nominee becomes.
This was also a great night in that every candidate was speaking with one voice, espousing the principles that make our party right on so many issues, taking the argument right to Bush, and most importantly, speaking nicely about one another.
What on earth happened to Kerry? The candidate who celebrated his win tonight looks nothing like the candidate who has listlessly slogged his way through the campaign thus far. He had an energy and vigor that I have not seen from him at all at this point. Obviously, rumors of his demise have been greatly exagerrated. Good for him: he went into Iowa and he earned this.
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Edwards is the real wild card here. His strong showing is the wedge that really breaks this whole race open. We move on to New Hampshire, where Dean holds a tenuous lead, where Kerry and Clark will for the moment duke it out for 2nd, and where Edwards may be poised to make a charge. Dean has solid support in NH, and Edwards and Kerry head up there with huge momentum. Now is the time when we see what kind of stuff Clark is made of. The next 8 days will be fascinating to watch.
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What on earth happened to Gephardt? If you had told me, even this morning, that Gep would finish 4th with 11% of the vote, I would have told you that you were nuts. As much as I took an adversarial view of him during this campaign, he really is one of the good guys, and he really does not deserve to go out in such ignominious fashion.
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The real loser here is Lieberman. Every candidate has something now to hang his hat on, except for Joe. Looking at a 5th-place finish at best in New Hampshire, and barely registering in the Super Tuesday states, I predict that he's going to be finished after New Hampshire.
