Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee have won their respective Iowa cacuses in a decisive way. The results were not wholly unexpected but they are still a surprise. It is too early to make the projection for the eventual outcome in either party’s primaries. There is still a long way to go.
The pundits are saying that it is a perfect storm for a black man of mixed ancestry named Barack Hussein Obama who won in a cold weather, midwestern state which is ~ 95% white, rural, mostly Christian and conservative. Well, I guess after the destructive climate of the last seven years, the butterfly effect has been redefined in the minds of Americans.
Accidental Blogger 
3 responses to “Wow Iowa!”
Watching the actual Democratic caucus procedures on C-Span was a really educative experience. One of the precincts that they were tracking had the precinct leader calling out the numbers of delegates awarded soon after the groups for non-viable candidates redistributed themselves – 3 Obama, 2 Edwards and 1 Hillary. It was a lot more fun than the talking heads opining on the other networks.
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I was surprised at the huge turnout among the younger voters. I hope this turnout trend continues in other states. I was also very surprised that more women did not vote for Hillary – especially younger women.
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The Iowa Democratic caucuses are a pretty amazing model of participatory democracy. Only the committed and energized take part. Which is why yesterday’s event was so heartening. The turnout was double of most years and younger voters turned out in greater numbers. All this portends well for Democrats if the trend carries over to the next primaries.
As Lekhni noted, more women voting for Obama than for Hillary too is a telling thing. It shows that Hillary’s supporters are devoted but the support is not multi-layered. People either like her or they don’t. Which is why she did poorly in the “second choice” ballots. The other bad news for Hillary is that the African American support for her will now start to peel off. Many black voters were leaning toward her because of their pessimism about a black candidate winning in America. Now that mostly white Iowa has thrown its support behind him, they will feel the confidence to go out and vote for Obama.
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