South Carolina

I'll venture no predictions about the voting today except that there will be furious spinning no matter what the final result, especially from the Clinton camp. They've been busy downplaying expectations.
Meanwhile, the Clintons are busy laying the groundwork for a dirty trick by making noises about counting the delegates stripped from Florida and Michigan for breaking the DNC rules. While in principle I'm not too keen about delegate stripping, I understand that the parties need to have some way to enforce their rules if they are going to get anyone to follow them. It might have been better to do what the GOP did and just reduce the delegates.
Still, this was the rules agreed on and everybody agreed to abide by it.
So it's simply too late to change the rule now without it being unfair. The candidates campaigned based on Florida and Michigan not counting, it's bad faith to break that promise now.
Of course, with the Clintons there is no such thing as bad faith.

Clinton Crap

I was better disposed to the notion of a possible Hillary Clinton administration at the beginning of this process than I am now that the campaign has been going on. Once they were put under a little stress the Clintons reminded me of all the reasons why I disliked them in the first place. The little "dispute" over the Nevada caucuses is a good example.
Now, purely on the merits, I think the Clinton side had some valid points. However, the proper time to raise them was when the plan was being set up, not just a few days before the caucuses and day after the casino workers decided to endorse Obama. It's too late then to argue about principles.
And then, of course, they insist they had nothing to do with the challenge. That's what I can't stand about the Clintons. They feel absolutely entitled to tell us any bullshit story they want and we're supposed to just accept it.
Well, after 8 years of Clinton I treating me and my fellow citizens like mushrooms, followed by 7+ years of Bush II also treating us like mushrooms I'm not in any mood for more of that kind of crap. It's the main reason why Romney has turned me off.
Don't they get it? Haven't they noticed that the candidates getting the most enthusiasm are Obama, McCain, Edwards, Paul and Huckabee. Those guys are generally telling people what they really think. You may or may not agree or like it, but you can respect it.
Meanwhile people like Clinton, Romney, Guiliani and Thompson are basically putting us on notice that if we elect them, we're going to get a steady diet of crap for at least four more years.
Right.
Go to hell.

OK, Iowa is behind us. On to NH.

All-in-all I'm pleased with the results of Iowa.
First off, I'm glad Barack Obama won. To this point he's my favorite candidate. I took the time to listen to his victory speech and I thought it was one of the best political speeches of recent times. If he keeps this up ...
I'm glad Clinton came in third. While I don't think Edwards would be a bad president, there's a lot about him I don't care for. (But I do agree with much of his criticism of the system). But I'm glad he came in second because that, even more than Obama's win, signals that "Ms. Inevitable" is not inevitable at all. The Democrats have at least two guys that they might like better than her.
I'm sorry Chris Dodd didn't do a bit better, but I'm glad to have him back on the Senate beat where he's performing vital work against the FISA bill.
Biden was a good man running at the wrong time. Richardson will soon drop out. He also never made the case. He'd make a good cabinet level appointment, though.

On the GOP side things also worked out reasonable well. McCain did well enough to go on, and Ron Raul finished with a strong 10% which should ensure his much-needed voice continues to be heard. Thompson's still in the running for now, although he can't seem to shake off the "so-what?" atmosphere surrounding his campaign. Rudy didn't really play in this particular sandbox, so it's hard to know what, if anything his 4% might mean down the road. Blowing off 3-4 states to start the campaign does seem like a long-shot, to me, but what do I know?
The big news is that Huckabee trashed Romney. First off, I'm glad the phony flamed out. With a little luck Granite Staters will tell him to bugger off too and we'll be rid of him. It's kind of sad, because he might have made a good candidate and a constructive president if he's been the guy who was governor of Massachusetts. Instead he revealed himself to be an unprincipled empty suit. That's the last thing this country needs.
There's very little chance I'd support Huckabee for president, but I do think his candidacy is valuable. For a long time the GOP establishment has used (in the most debasing way) the social conservative/religious elements of the party to win elections while treating them and their concerns with thinly disguised contempt. (For details read David Kuo). It's only fair that they get their chance at the top of the heap, but early indications are that the establishment regards this prospect with absolute horror. The fallout from this can only be positive as the establishment push back merely confirms what the social cons and theocons already suspect -- they've been played for fools and patsies by the GOP. They won't become Democrats but they damn well may stay home. If they do the GOP is toast.

Good job, Iowa.