Kerry Wins Iowa Caucus in 11th Hour Surge

[jimnyc]

DES MOINES, Iowa - John Kerry (news - web sites) rode an 11th-hour surge to victory in Iowa's kickoff presidential caucuses, upsetting Democratic front-runner Howard Dean (news - web sites) and stunning caucus favorite Dick Gephardt (news - web sites). Kerry's comeback blew the nomination fight wide open, setting the stage for a free-for-all in New Hampshire's follow-up primary.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm.../ap_on_el_pr/iowa_caucus_rdp&cid=536&ncid=536

 

[wonderwench]

In a post caucus forum tonight, 75% of the participants mentioned that they made up their minds in the past 4 days. Reasons for deciding against Dean:

- His abuse of the old Republican man a few days ago turned people off. He was described as not having "Gravitas".
- The amateur nature of his campaign organization which, in effect, stalked people. They complained about being called or visited 3 to 4 times per day.

Anger & Amateurs are a bad cocktail.

 

[jon_forward]

what did dean do to this old fella??? I did not here about it.

 

[wonderwench]

He had a fit!

http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/newswire/news2004/0104/011304-dean.htm

 

[MtnBiker]

The battle for control of the Democrat party continues.

 

[jon_forward]

and the guy THINKS he is qualified to be the CIC.....throws a hissy fit over being asked to run a more positive campaign...wtf would he do if a country dis-ed him???? OK, france and germany dont exist anymore???hahaha wisk all the luck in the world to whoever is still running for the democratic nom, they are surely going to need it!

 

[eric]

HOWARD DEAN -

 

[5stringJeff]

So now we are down to five serious candidates (Dean, Clark, Edwards, Lieberman, Kerry) and two jokers (Sharpton and Kucinich). Very interesting.
Kerry has the big mo' (momentum) at the moment. If he can translate it into 1st or 2nd in NH, he is the man to beat.
Dean needs a big win in NH to keep his momentum going. His 3rd place finish in Iowa was certainly disappointing, but he's got so much money that he won't drop out of the race. But a 3rd place or worse finish in NH is bad news for Dean, as he will start to look unelectable.
Clark's strategy was to skip Iowa and concentrate on NH. If it doesn't pay off with a strong showing, though, he may be able to make up the ground in some of the Southern states, where, as a Southerner, he should have some stronger support. I can't see Clark dropping out of the race before the convention, as he his the Clinton backed nominee.
Lieberman also skipped Iowa. He has the name recognition, but NH will be an important state for him as well. While I can't see him dropping out over the results there, he is from New England, and a low finish there could be very damaging. I don't think Lieberman will drop out unless he loses big on Super Tuesday. He needs at least one win by then, especially after skipping Iowa.
John Edwards came out of nowhere to take second in Iowa, and was certainly a surprise. He should be able to walk away with South Carolina's votes if he can maintain his image as the positive guy in the race. If he can manage a decent showing in NH and a win in SC, he can propel himself enough to make it through the next few months of primaries.
Sharpton got exactly zero votes in Iowa. Still, as I've written before, he's in it to keep the black vote united under one candidate (him) and translate that into a favor at the convention.
Kucinich... I don't know how long he's going to stay in the race. Perhaps long enough for all the Greens to figure out who he is and then pull a Ralph Nader.

Only seven days until New Hampshire!

 

[jon_forward]

if al sharpton doesnt get any votes how will this translate into favors at convention time? he is more of a distraction than anything else. maybe a little comic relief... edwards was by far the surprise in Iowa so this is getting interesting. Dean, Clark and Lieberman have to show up strong in NH or the fat lady is singing their names..[thats you que janeen] as I sit on the other side of the fence this mess really doesnt concern me except for the fact that the democratic party isnt looking for the best man to run, they are looking for the man that can beat G.W. ....[ which I doubt will happen...] not the way to win the whitehouse in my view...:cof:

 

[acludem]

The surprise of the Iowa caucuses to me is the incredible showing by John Edwards. I'm amazed that he finished second and in fact stomped a mudhole in Howard Dean. Kerry's showing was also telling. Kerry's status as a Vietnam Veteran obviously helped him a lot. I think Dean has to win New Hampshire or he's toast. Lieberman and Clark have no chance. It's a three way horse race between Kerry, Edwards and Dean right now. I think it will ultimately be either Kerry or Edwards. It'll be very interesting. I vote two weeks from today, and I'm yet undecided.

acludem

 

[wonderwench]

Dean is already toast. His speech last night nailed shut the coffin of his political career.

Americans don't want a President who seems to be off his meds.

 

[Dan]

Americans don't want a President who seems to be off his meds.

Unless those meds are Smart Pills, beause we already have a president who seems to be off those! Right?

Sorry, I'm in an odd mood tonight, I thought that was funny myself.:

 

[jon_forward]

I watch Dean some last nite myself...he couldnt even answer the questions asked of him...I dont know if he is off his meds or od-ing on them. but toast is toast..burnt or not

 

[FloridaSage1]

Why bother? Bush has the money, (over $100 million!) and the big business arena...
one vote won't really matter, though the Dems will try to get the death vote in again, like in 2000, when all the poll supervisors were caught with ballot machines and forms, in their possession!
Or, in 1994 when Janet Reno prosecuted those two Miami news reporters for discovering her warehouses full of preprinted ballots, the day BEFORE the elections!

The Libertarians hope to field folks in some offices, and are behind the move to a choice political
state in the website http://freestateproject.org

This two party system locks out over 50% of the citizens!

 

[acludem]

It's nice to have a Libertarian voice in here. One of my favorite professors is a Libertarian, unfortunately he moved away from my area. I used to listen to Neal Boortz before he was replaced in my area by Bill O'Lielly.

As for your commentary...I would refer you to the fact that Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris systematically removed many African-American voters, including a sitting Judge, from the voter rolls in Florida based upon information from a company based in, you guessed it, Texas.

I'm sure both parties have been involved in such shenanigans over the years.

 

[FloridaSage1]

I am more of an Independant, than a Libertarian. I do disagree with Isolationism.

We did a good thing to stop the genocide by the Batth Party in Iraq.

If I wasyounger, and able, had not retired 20 years ago, I would be there, now...

The major act of patriotism we can do here, at home, is to vote freely, and support our troops.

 

[Annie]

ACLU,
I disagree with your perception of what was done with the black vote, but you are entitled to your opinion.

What do you think Gore & Co. were doing with the military vote? That doesn't bother you?

 

[FloridaSage1]

Now is not the time to try to go back and re-write history, or to tone down the crimes of politicians of one party, by blaming criminal acts upon the other party. It is all obfuscation, to simply confuse the voters about the genuine issue, that, few of them can combat the largess thrown their way by special interests. Lobbyists outnumber the total Congress.

If we voters ever could coalesce upon genuine needs, and curtail voting ourselves free money,
the free democracy might have a chance... Otherwise, we go the way of all advanced civilizations... check out the free state project! http://www.freestateproject.org/index.jsp

Also, some of what the CAGW speeks of is very accurate, though they have a weird view of the freedom of individuals, and businesses, and even the government, to write open source software, and use it, while at the same time not acknowledging that over 70% of the Internet and the world, does so, with Apache, Php, GNU/Linux, hundreds of other examples, etc.. http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer

Finally, we hope someday to radically change the tax system, as the Federal government has taken over in so many areas it never was entitled to, per the U.S. Constitution...
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1201/p13s01-wmgn.html

http://www.ncpa.org/pi/taxes/pdtx175.html


Politics is of, by, and for, the money, and NOT the people, it seems! To make some really great changes, mull over these ideas, for a Fair Tax! http://www.fairtax.org/