Political Bloviation

It looks like Obama wins with 37% at the moment. Edwards and Hillary are in a dead heat for 2nd place with 30% each, despite Hillary out spending Edwards by more than two to one. The Huckster wins decisively with 34% on the GOP side frustrating Romney’s (25%) transparent attempt to buy the nomination in Iowa, with the McCain (13%) dragging in third.

For both parties, the results show a rejection of establishment candidates and a strong taste for change. The people of Iowa are thoroughly sick of the Bush era. For myself I refuse to be stampeded by the crowd. When Florida primary rolls around, I’ll vote for Edwards. He speaks of health care and economic justice in a way that resonates with me.

As I watch the coverage of Hillary’s concession speech I see her numbers slipping behind Edwards 29% to 30%. Third place for the “presumptive” nominee. Wow. I think democrats have realized her negatives are a drag on the chances of regaining the White House in November. All in all her performance was classy but flat and lifeless.

The Huckster just did his “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” shtick in lieu of a victory speech. I shouldn’t be too hard on the pastor, he’s as close to a populist as the GOP will allow. Giuliani better get a resounding win in New Hampshire if he wants to stop Huckabee

Romney chose to do his speech at the same time as the winner, showing either pettiness and sour grapes or a desire to get less coverage. The man truly is a human Ken doll, smooth plastic features and bendable into any political position.

Obama’s victory speech is by far the most raucous, his supporters the youngest and most enthusiastic. He really is an excellent speaker, who is capable of capturing a crowd. We’ll see how it plays when the GOP sleaze machine is in full force in the southern states.

Result totals:

The Democrats:

1. Obama — 38%
2. Edwards — 30%
3. Clinton — 29%
4. Richardson — 2%
5. Biden — 0.9%
6. Dodd — 0.02%

And the Republicans:

1. Huckabee — 34%
2. Romney — 25%
3. Thompson — 13.3%
4. McCain — 13.1%
5. Paul — 10%
6. Giuliani — 3%

It looks like the democrats drop to the 3 way race with Richardson, Biden and Dodd all in the “who cares?” range. Biden abd Dodd have both dropped out and it’s just a matter of time for Richardson.

The republican side looks as muddled as before. Since Giuliani wasn’t really all that active in Iowa it probably isn’t wise to discount his campaign, but finishing sixth behind Ron Paul has got to sting. Looks like his case of 9-11 Tourette’s Syndrome hasn’t scared enough people into his camp. We’ll see how the politics of fear play in the Granite state.

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