My Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary Thoughts

Let me begin by making a few prefaces.

First, I have been supporting John Edwards since November 2004 when I knew, deep down, he was going to run again. And, I will support John until he officially declares he is out of the race.

Second, I believe that a Democrat is going to win—-no matter what or who it is—-in November. Yes, I am idealistic (we’ve established that in other posts) but I believe that this country is pissed off with the direction our current “President” has led our country. It’s not just hard-core Democrats who are pissed. Moderates and even some Republicans are sick of what’s been going on for the past 4 years.

Third, I don’t think anyone else should drop out until Feb. 5th (aka Super Tuesday).

Okay.

So, I wasn’t too excited about Iowa for many reasons. I don’t know why, but, it just didn’t get me excited like it did other people. It was JUST a caucus—-not even a good sample of the electorate in Iowa. Maybe I’m wrong about it’s unimportance but still, I could not get excited about Jan. 3rd. The results of Iowa were very surprising. I mean, John Edwards had done SO much there and only 2% of the population in Iowa is African-American. I don’t think the race for either party’s nomination is over. Many people I know said, Iowa like the first game in the World Series. There is still a long way to go.

I was a tad more excited about New Hampshire. Again, I don’t know why. Maybe it was because the voters there tend to buck polls and trends and change their minds at the last minute. ANYTHING can happen in New Hampshire and it can be drastically different from Iowa. New Hampshire also had an actual voting primary. To me, elections are way more fun than caucus meetings.

A couple of my friends and I have been having the discussion since last week about what if Edwards steps out before Feb. 5th. Who will we support then? We have discussions about the electability of Barack Obama and the power of the Clinton machine. Which one will be a better President? Who can beat Romney? Huckabee? McCain?

I’m going to hold out til the end for people to pull their heads out and vote for Edwards. I’ve seen some polls (and I’ll find them and post them…) that shows that Edwards is the ONLY Democrat who can beat ALL of the Republicans—-including McCain. Some do not like his “populist” message to which I reply, “Obama is just as populist, he’s just vague about it.” John has actual ideas and plans on how to fix our country. I haven’t seen the detailed plans from the other campaigns.

I’m starting to like Obama the more I read about him and listen to his amazing speeches. I was there in Boston in 2004 on the convention floor. I heard his famous “Audacity of Hope” speech. He is an amazing speaker (he reminded me of President Bill who spoke just two days previous) and I felt the energy in the Fleet Center. He has the charisma, the media attention, and the hope so many of us need right now. But can he win? Is he too inexperienced? I’ll be digging more to answer these questions for myself over the next few days.

Out of all the Democratic candidates for President, only Clinton, Richardson, and Biden have the extensive foreign policy experience we desperately need. (On the other side, only McCain does, but he’s like 100-years-old so I don’t think WWII tactics are going to help us much). Well, Richardson and Biden are out so if we really want to fix America’s foreign policy, Clinton’s the way to go. Plus, with her, we get a package deal with Bill. He’s an automatic ambassador to the world! He will immediately go out around the world to fix our tarnished image and the whole world will LOVE us because they LOVE him. And, the 12-year-old girl in me who once wanted to be the first woman President is deep down saying, “Go Hilary! Show the men you can do it. Go!”

Well, these are my initial thoughts. It's just going to get more and more nail-biting, I know it.

It's an exciting Election Year so far. I can't wait until November!