A New Spirit.....

"This is a defining moment.... change has come to America." President-elect Barack Obama, November 4, 2008.

A change away from a divisive, oppressive trickle-down government to inclusive leadership that will strive to fulfill Lincoln's promise.... "of the people, by the people and for the people."

And the walls came tumbling down.... the dismantling of that wall started in Iowa.

It's possible that without Iowa, where Obama won the first-in-the-nation caucus last January, the moment might have been missed, and the country would have continued down the "bring it on" path instead of leading the way to "Yes We Can."

The election of Obama shows that, in his own words.... "the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."

Yesterday "we the people" chose Obama, a uniquely gifted man of vision, intellect, will and judgment, to lead us out of our national nightmare, newborn into a world of possibilities where we'll no longer need to bemoan..... "What happened to my country?"

The Last Dance.... Vote!

"It began in Iowa.... Now, U.S. decides." (DMRegister)

It was a whirlwind of anticipation, excitement and finally exhaustion for Iowans.... their 2008 first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses.

John McCain treated the Iowa caucuses like the wallflower at the nominating prom, and saved his dances for the flashier primaries.

More than a year ago, McCain slashed his Iowa caucus campaign staff and blew off the Ames Republican straw poll in August. He finished fourth in the Iowa caucuses this January.... but cornered the GOP nomination.

When he returned to Iowa, McCain bragged about voting against the farm bill, and he never warmed to ethanol.

But now McCain is courting his Iowa wallflower.... he needs Iowa's electoral college delegates.

"I'm going to give you a little straight talk today and one of them is, as you know, we need to win Iowa," McCain said in Cedar Falls last week.

But McCain's wooing seems too little too late. Iowa voters know that it was Barack Obama who courted Iowa, built a strong organization, inspired first-time voters, reached across lines of division and won the caucuses.... eclipsing the preordained prom Queen, Hillary Clinton.

And Obama returned to Iowa to thank the voters when he secured the nomination.

Obama's win in Iowa not only put him on the road to the Democratic nomination, but as he told Iowans at a rally in Des Moines this week, "it vindicated my faith in the American people".... a faith that looked past the color of his skin to measure the content of his character.

Eugene Robinson, a black columnist for the Washington Post, said it best today in "A New Kind of Pride" .... "an amazing thing happened. In the Iowa caucuses, white Americans voted for the black guy. That's the moment Obama was referring to when he said his faith in the American people was vindicated....

"Even if John McCain somehow prevails, that won't change the fact that Obama won all those primaries, or that he won the Democratic Party nomination, or that he raised more money than any candidate in history, or that he rewrote the book on how to run a presidential campaign. Nothing can change the fact that so many white Americans entrusted a black American with their hopes and dreams.

"We can all have a new kind of pride in our country."

Amen.

Vote.

Iowa... In With The New!

Our favored candidate, Sen. Joe Biden, has withdrawn from the presidential race after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses yesterday. But, he isn't going away.

Biden promises to be the administration's worst nightmare when it comes to their misshapen foreign policies, and to look after the well being of our troops, in the field and after they return.

For the Democratic party, it's a new dawning. You can hear the over-prognosticated apple cart wheels coming off as Barack Obama pulls off a stunning win, defeating the second-place John Edwards and derailing the Des Moines Register-anointed coronation of Hillary Clinton by nine percentage points, proving....

Parading Bill about isn't enough, it just reminds us we're all getting older, and wiser to them.

People want change.... out with the old, in with the new..... an Iowa twist on "throw the bums out."

Hillary doesn't own the women's vote.... Obama garnered 35 percent of the womens' vote, Hillary 30 percent.

Young people can be energized, they will come out and vote when someone speaks to them.

And, demographically very white Iowa will support a black candidate.

Turnout was historic, 239,000 for the Democrats... almost double in size from the 2004 caucuses.... and, the Democratic turnout doubled that of the GOP. This should give the Republican party worrisome pause as Iowa is considered a "red" swing state.

The GOP also went for change, giving former Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee the nod over Mitt Romney, while the rest of the pack trailed in the low teens or worse. Sixty percent of the GOP turnout according to polls were Christian conservative voters who overwhelmingly supported Huckabee.

While that probably won't give Huckabee an edge in New Hampshire, it might hold up in South Carolina where John McCain was tripped up by the Christian conservative voters in his 2000 race against The Decider.

The rumblings for change in Iowa were in the air long before last night. In the Democratic contest for governor in 2006, the candidate supported by retiring "establishment" governor Tom Vilsack didn't secure the Democratic nomination.

Evidently heedless of this warning, Clinton nonetheless drug along Vilsack and his wife, Christie, to many a campaign event, evidently thinking to ride on his perceived Democratic-turnout-machine coattails.

So, it is with a great dollop of irony that it was reported that Vilsack and Christie didn't show at their Des Moines precinct last night to vote, and in that caucus Obama carried the day over Clinton by.... you guessed it.... two votes.

Isn't Democracy great!

Biden Supporters Rally

Surrounded by an overflow crowd of enthusiastic supporters, members of his family and well-organized campaign workers, Sen.Joe Biden delivered an inspiring and sober message today in Des Moines, two days before the Iowa caucuses.

It is hard to estimate now many attended, well into the hundreds, as it was SRO throughout the venue. And, it was obvious these were not only supporters, but caucus goers, since they braved subfreezing temperatures on New Year's day to deliver their message.... they want Joe Biden to be our next president.

Biden's closing thought was simple.... who would you want sitting in the Oval Office if nuclear-armed Pakistan exploded; or to settle the Iraq war while making sure that our 140,000 troops are protected now, and their needs are met when they return home; or to deal with a plutocratically trending Putin in Russia; or to manage the unraveling relations with an increasingly powerful China?

The answer was resounding.... Biden.

As he pointed out, progress on the domestic front is almost impossible until we address these threatening and economy-busting foreign policy issues.

As evidenced by his experience (30-year member and currently Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee), and legislative and diplomatic initiatives (currently the bill with his federalization plan for Iraq has the support of 75 percent of the Senate body of both parties and is on The Decider's desk awaiting his signature).... what sets Biden apart from the other candidates is that he has, and will, take action.

Iowans.... caucus on January 3. It matters!

(Photo at top: Biden signing autographs after his speech with his brother prominent in background. Photo at bottom: Truth Hunter and Biden with his son prominent in background.)

Take the Biden Path....

This from today's Des Moines Register Editorial Page Editor, Carol Hunter, about her impression of Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden when she attended his campaign rally in Newton, Iowa:

"He conveyed his detailed grasp of issues. He was passionate and inspiring, telling the audience he wanted to restore Americans' belief 'in the goodness of their government.' You left feeling this guy could make a good president."

Now that's an endorsement. The Register six-member endorsement board took the path of least resistance when they named Hillary Clinton as their choice.

Don't take the path of least resistance. Caucus for Biden. It matters!

Iowa's Last To Be First?

Thursday, January 3, 2008 will probably mark the end of an era.

Considering the jumbled musical chairs the primary season has become, it is likely it will be the last time Iowa will hold its caucuses as first in the nation.

Even at that, to be first this time around both the Iowa GOP and Democratic parties have had to push their caucus date forward to New Year's week.... the night of the Orange Bowl game.... January 3.

Other larger and more populous states are throwing elbows, crowding into line.... and really, who can blame them. Every four years the national spotlight falls on Iowa as presidential wanna-bes of both parties travel, spend money.... almost camp out in the state. Other states want part of the action.

In the future, retail politics as practiced in schools, churches, even living rooms of prospective Iowa caucus goers will give way to the realities of the electronic age.... and sadly one-on-one campaigning will fall into the dustbin of history. As quaint as the notion of knowing your neighbor.

Although just four states.... Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.... were designated by the Democratic party to hold their nominating contests pre-February 5, Florida jumped their date ahead forcing South Carolina to hold their primaries earlier, while Michigan set its primary for January 15, a week earlier than the scheduled date for New Hampshire. New Hampshire will undoubtedly nose forward on the calendar.... bumper-car politics.

Hopefully when the primary scheduling traffic jam is addressed for future contests, other common-sense things will be addressed also. Like limiting the length of the campaign season.... and reining in the monstrous cost that increasingly only produces corporate-beholden nominees.

Otherwise, just rearranging the order of the starting lineup won't save the dangerously out-of-control Mad Max race to the White House.

When Primaries Collide

It's refreshing to see the Democratic party stepping up to their role as traffic cop in it's primary process.... "DNC Strips Florida of 2008 Delegates."

That's right. The Democratic National Committee makes, and enforces, the party primary rules.... and yesterday they sent a strong message.

The DNC stripped Florida of their nominating presidential delegates because they crashed into line, accelerating their primary date to January 29, creating a bumper-car confusion among the scheduled early primary and caucus states.

Allowed to stand, Florida's maneuver would push New Hampshire to an earlier primary date, and Iowa's first-in-the-nation January caucus would carom forward to either early January or even the December holiday season.

But Florida can still decide to count.... if they want their Democratic delegates reinstated, they have 30 days to reschedule their primary to after February 5.

Making a stand for orderly process, DNC member Garry Shays of California reminded the states, "Rules are rules. California abided by them, and Florida should as well. To ignore them would open the door to chaos."

Michigan is also revving up for a possible early primary run.... "Michigan's legislature is on the verge of approving a January 15 date - a move that would violate the same Democratic rule that Florida faces punishment for breaking. The Michigan Republican State Committee voted yesterday to endorse the new date."

So, will Michigan have two primaries? Will the Democratic party opt to lose their delegates and go with the earlier date?... hopefully not.

Reason tells us that the point of the primary process for presidential elections is to accumulate enough delegates to win the party's nomination. That's why the belligerent statement of Florida's Democratic party chair, Karen Thurman, is so inane , "Whether you get a delegate or don't get a delegate, a vote is a vote.... That is what Floridians are going to say is important."

Oh really? Having no representation in the selection of the Democratic presidential nominee is of no importance? Having the Democratic candidates skip campaigning in the fourth-most-populous state because they don't have any delegates isn't important?

We nominate Karen Thurman for Florida's Election Process Hall of Shame.... joining the 2000 election GOP capo Katherine Harris, and Chad who was hanging around anyway.