Thursday, January 3, 2008

Politics '08: Obama, Huckabee Win in Iowa

Finally, after what seemed like an interminable number of debates and campaigning, the good people of Iowa got together and decided on their own who they thought should run the country for the next four years.

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was the choice among Iowa's Democrats, which is a pretty amazing feat considering how overwhelmingly white the state is. Or maybe they were just under the spell of Oprah?

Senator Hillary Clinton of New York and former senator John Edwards were neck-and-neck for second place. For Clinton, this is a major letdown considering that she was the front-runner a few weeks ago. For Edwards, he's got to feel good about how far he's come.

On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, was the surprise winner edging out former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Seems Iowans are more comfortable with an evangelical Christian they know than a Mormon they don't know. And Huckabee's appearance the previous night on Jay Leno (was the candidate aware that he crossed picket lines?) didn't seem to hurt him.

Slugging it out for third place are Senator John McCain of Arizona and Fred Thompson, the former Senator from Tennessee, who should feel fortunate that he's still in the race. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani chose to campaign in Florida instead.

Dropping out after poor showings: Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, both Democrats.

Next stop: New Hampshire on Tuesday.

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