01-19-2004, 10:15 PM
I don't know if other Canadians are as fascinated with the American democratic process as myself, but for anyone who wants it...
This just in: Dick Gephardt is bowing out of the Presidential race after his fourth-place showing in the state he was most likely to get support in. Now when's Kucinich going to take a hint?
The main story:
Well, placing my bets with my heart instead of my brain didn't work too well during the last Stanley Cup playoffs, but weeks ago I said I liked John Kerry better than Howard Dean, and this evening Kerry staged a massive comeback despite all the poll numbers for weeks saying Howard Dean would come first. I'm glad Kerry won, and I'm glad that fiery little wind-blowing tonsil-popping rhetoric-spewing outsider-with-all-the-inside-endorsements Howard Dean didn't win. The Democratic party justified my faith in it today. I only wish I lived in Iowa so I could have been there to vote. WAIT! I take that back - getting to vote in a non-binding caucus isn't worth living in Iowa. But how the HECK did John Edwards end up 15 points ahead of Howard Dean?! That's mind-boggling! I guess pleasant, simple farmtown Iowans liked his positive Southern charm, but I doubt that will pan out in down-to-business New Hampshire later. I still hope Kerry will take it all!!
Anyway...here's a perspective slightly more credible than mine...
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/19/elec04.prez.main/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/ ... index.html</a><!-- m -->
Kerry projected Iowa winner
Edwards in second place, Dean third, Gephardt fourth
Monday, January 19, 2004 Posted: 9:45 PM EST (0245 GMT)
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Shaking up the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts won the Iowa caucuses Tuesday night, according to CNN projections.
John Edwards, a first-term senator from North Carolina whose once listless campaign gained new life in Iowa, was in second place, according to initial party results.
Howard Dean, a former governor of Vermont and presumed front-runner in the Democratic race, was in third place.
Rep. Dick Gephardt of neighboring Missouri, running a distant fourth, was considering dropping out of the race, a campaign operative said Monday night.
Dean all but conceded the Iowa caucuses in comments on CNN. He congratulated Kerry and Edwards.
"Certainly, we would have like to have done better, but we worked hard. We got a lot of great people working for us, and on to New Hampshire," Dean said.
The only early reaction from the Kerry camp: "We're encouraged by the turnout."
With 77 percent of the precincts reporting, Kerry stood at 38 percent. Edwards had 32 percent and Dean had 18 percent. Gephardt was trailing with 11 percent.
Monday's results figure to set the tone for next week's primary in New Hampshire and seven contests on February 3.
The race in Iowa had tightened considerably in recent days, bringing some suspense, surprise and electricity to the Democratic fight. (Audio Slide Show: Bill Schneider on what the outcome may mean)
An estimated 100,000 Iowans braved single-digit temperatures across the state to attend nearly 2,000 local precinct caucuses, which started at 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. ET).
Once viewed as a two-way contest between Dean and Gephardt, the dynamics of the race changed dramatically as Kerry and Edwards surged in late polls.
Kerry's strong showing could well call into question Dean's front-runner status -- as determined by various national polls, fund raising and endorsements -- and give Kerry new momentum going into New Hampshire.
Speaking about a hour before the caucuses convened, Gephardt -- who won the Iowa contest in 1988 but lost the nomination to Michael Dukakis -- said the race was "very fluid," but he predicted his labor-backed organization in the Hawkeye State would bring him a win.
Gephardt once described Iowa as a must-win contest for him to continue in the race. But over the weekend he insisted he has the resources to continue into other states, no matter what happens Monday night. (Analysis: CNN's Jeff Greenfield on Dick Gephardt then and now)
After canceling three appearances earlier in the day because he lost his voice, Kerry rallied his supporters in Ames late Monday afternoon, urging them to bring their friends and family to the caucuses.
"You in Iowa tonight start the process, and, tonight, we are not just having caucuses. We in Iowa are marking the beginning of the end of the Bush presidency," a still-hoarse Kerry said.
Tricky polling
Aides to Edwards and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio congressman whose campaign has lagged in the polls, said Monday the two candidates agreed that in any precinct in which either candidate fails to garner the minimum needed to survive the first round of the caucuses, their supporters should line up for the other candidate. (Full story)
Since an Iowa poll published over the weekend showed Kucinich drawing the support of just 3 percent of likely caucus-goers, the arrangement could give Edwards a boost in a tight race.
In the first round of Iowa's Democratic precinct caucuses, voters divide into groups to register their support for a particular candidate. Each group must be a certain size -- usually 15 percent of the caucus -- for its candidate to be considered "viable," and supporters of candidates who fail to hit that mark must join another group. (CNN.com's interactive caucuses explainer: How they work)
The race in Iowa was long considered to be a two-way battle between Gephardt and Dean, but Kerry and Edwards registered sharp upward movement in polls taken last week. (John Mercurio on Iowa's contentious caucuses)
Polls are not necessarily good indicators of how the caucuses might turn out because of these nature of the events. Many potential caucus-goers have acknowledged they could change their minds at the last minute. (Gallery: Candidates all smiles in the final campaign hours, On the Scene: CNN's Bob Franken on Caucus Day)
Dean lost ground to Kerry and Edwards in a Des Moines Register poll over the weekend. But he told CNN's "American Morning" on Monday, "We're not planning on a second-place finish."
Observers have questioned whether Edwards, a North Carolina trial lawyer elected to the Senate in 1998, has enough campaign organization in Iowa to capitalize on his new showing in the polls. But said the large crowds attending his recent campaign events are "not an accident."
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton is also competing in Iowa, but polls show his support in single digits.
Two other Democratic hopefuls -- retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, who places second to Dean in national polls, and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut -- have skipped Iowa to concentrate on the New Hampshire primary January 27.
This just in: Dick Gephardt is bowing out of the Presidential race after his fourth-place showing in the state he was most likely to get support in. Now when's Kucinich going to take a hint?
The main story:
Well, placing my bets with my heart instead of my brain didn't work too well during the last Stanley Cup playoffs, but weeks ago I said I liked John Kerry better than Howard Dean, and this evening Kerry staged a massive comeback despite all the poll numbers for weeks saying Howard Dean would come first. I'm glad Kerry won, and I'm glad that fiery little wind-blowing tonsil-popping rhetoric-spewing outsider-with-all-the-inside-endorsements Howard Dean didn't win. The Democratic party justified my faith in it today. I only wish I lived in Iowa so I could have been there to vote. WAIT! I take that back - getting to vote in a non-binding caucus isn't worth living in Iowa. But how the HECK did John Edwards end up 15 points ahead of Howard Dean?! That's mind-boggling! I guess pleasant, simple farmtown Iowans liked his positive Southern charm, but I doubt that will pan out in down-to-business New Hampshire later. I still hope Kerry will take it all!!
Anyway...here's a perspective slightly more credible than mine...
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/19/elec04.prez.main/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/ ... index.html</a><!-- m -->
Kerry projected Iowa winner
Edwards in second place, Dean third, Gephardt fourth
Monday, January 19, 2004 Posted: 9:45 PM EST (0245 GMT)
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Shaking up the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts won the Iowa caucuses Tuesday night, according to CNN projections.
John Edwards, a first-term senator from North Carolina whose once listless campaign gained new life in Iowa, was in second place, according to initial party results.
Howard Dean, a former governor of Vermont and presumed front-runner in the Democratic race, was in third place.
Rep. Dick Gephardt of neighboring Missouri, running a distant fourth, was considering dropping out of the race, a campaign operative said Monday night.
Dean all but conceded the Iowa caucuses in comments on CNN. He congratulated Kerry and Edwards.
"Certainly, we would have like to have done better, but we worked hard. We got a lot of great people working for us, and on to New Hampshire," Dean said.
The only early reaction from the Kerry camp: "We're encouraged by the turnout."
With 77 percent of the precincts reporting, Kerry stood at 38 percent. Edwards had 32 percent and Dean had 18 percent. Gephardt was trailing with 11 percent.
Monday's results figure to set the tone for next week's primary in New Hampshire and seven contests on February 3.
The race in Iowa had tightened considerably in recent days, bringing some suspense, surprise and electricity to the Democratic fight. (Audio Slide Show: Bill Schneider on what the outcome may mean)
An estimated 100,000 Iowans braved single-digit temperatures across the state to attend nearly 2,000 local precinct caucuses, which started at 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. ET).
Once viewed as a two-way contest between Dean and Gephardt, the dynamics of the race changed dramatically as Kerry and Edwards surged in late polls.
Kerry's strong showing could well call into question Dean's front-runner status -- as determined by various national polls, fund raising and endorsements -- and give Kerry new momentum going into New Hampshire.
Speaking about a hour before the caucuses convened, Gephardt -- who won the Iowa contest in 1988 but lost the nomination to Michael Dukakis -- said the race was "very fluid," but he predicted his labor-backed organization in the Hawkeye State would bring him a win.
Gephardt once described Iowa as a must-win contest for him to continue in the race. But over the weekend he insisted he has the resources to continue into other states, no matter what happens Monday night. (Analysis: CNN's Jeff Greenfield on Dick Gephardt then and now)
After canceling three appearances earlier in the day because he lost his voice, Kerry rallied his supporters in Ames late Monday afternoon, urging them to bring their friends and family to the caucuses.
"You in Iowa tonight start the process, and, tonight, we are not just having caucuses. We in Iowa are marking the beginning of the end of the Bush presidency," a still-hoarse Kerry said.
Tricky polling
Aides to Edwards and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio congressman whose campaign has lagged in the polls, said Monday the two candidates agreed that in any precinct in which either candidate fails to garner the minimum needed to survive the first round of the caucuses, their supporters should line up for the other candidate. (Full story)
Since an Iowa poll published over the weekend showed Kucinich drawing the support of just 3 percent of likely caucus-goers, the arrangement could give Edwards a boost in a tight race.
In the first round of Iowa's Democratic precinct caucuses, voters divide into groups to register their support for a particular candidate. Each group must be a certain size -- usually 15 percent of the caucus -- for its candidate to be considered "viable," and supporters of candidates who fail to hit that mark must join another group. (CNN.com's interactive caucuses explainer: How they work)
The race in Iowa was long considered to be a two-way battle between Gephardt and Dean, but Kerry and Edwards registered sharp upward movement in polls taken last week. (John Mercurio on Iowa's contentious caucuses)
Polls are not necessarily good indicators of how the caucuses might turn out because of these nature of the events. Many potential caucus-goers have acknowledged they could change their minds at the last minute. (Gallery: Candidates all smiles in the final campaign hours, On the Scene: CNN's Bob Franken on Caucus Day)
Dean lost ground to Kerry and Edwards in a Des Moines Register poll over the weekend. But he told CNN's "American Morning" on Monday, "We're not planning on a second-place finish."
Observers have questioned whether Edwards, a North Carolina trial lawyer elected to the Senate in 1998, has enough campaign organization in Iowa to capitalize on his new showing in the polls. But said the large crowds attending his recent campaign events are "not an accident."
Civil rights activist Al Sharpton is also competing in Iowa, but polls show his support in single digits.
Two other Democratic hopefuls -- retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, who places second to Dean in national polls, and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut -- have skipped Iowa to concentrate on the New Hampshire primary January 27.
:wink:![[Image: cnnclutter.jpg]](http://maddox.xmission.com/cnnclutter.jpg)
hock: 
hehe. *Grunts like a pig*