Here we go...

So the winners of the Iowa Caucus for the 2008 Presidential race have been called:

For the Republicans: Mike Huckabee.

For the Democrats: Barack Obama.


Now, for you non-political geeks and non-Americans...to call our system Byzantine would be to cast unfair aspersions on the machinations and assassinations of old Constantinople, so here it is in a nutshell.

There are 50 US states. Theoretically, each one of them gets to have a primary election where Presidential picks are determined. However, of course in practice, the ones that go first get the biggest say (and biggest pile-on of door-knockers, phone-ringers and other solicitors and sources of cash), and those are, for reasons veiled in the mists of history, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, etc. My own state, Illinois, has traditionally been one of those states that shrugs and votes for the leading guy at the time (after some 20 other states have gone first--talk about sloppy seconds) or casts hopeless but pointed symbolic votes. However, this time around several states have gotten competitive and voted in their own state governments to move their own primaries forward...especially those states which perceived themselves to actually have a real horse in this race...which of course includes the state Mr. Obama represents in the US Senate, which would be...Illinois.

For those of you outside the US, you always suspected we picked our presidents by drawing names out of a hat. No. I WISH it were that simple and honest. But it's just starting to get really interesting!

(Projected front-runners just three or four months ago? Hillary Clinton [D] is still in an undeclared and extremely tight race with John Edwards over the 2nd and 3rd positions. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani [R]? Not in the Top 3.)

ETA: (Expect a lot of these over the next 11 months, because it's changing all the time here). John Edwards is now making an excellent speech and claiming 2nd place, rightly, and saying that "No matter how you spin these results, the status quo lost and change won." Amen!

Here we go...

So the winners of the Iowa Caucus for the 2008 Presidential race have been called:

For the Republicans: Mike Huckabee.

For the Democrats: Barack Obama.


Now, for you non-political geeks and non-Americans...to call our system Byzantine would be to cast unfair aspersions on the machinations and assassinations of old Constantinople, so here it is in a nutshell.

There are 50 US states. Theoretically, each one of them gets to have a primary election where Presidential picks are determined. However, of course in practice, the ones that go first get the biggest say (and biggest pile-on of door-knockers, phone-ringers and other solicitors and sources of cash), and those are, for reasons veiled in the mists of history, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, etc. My own state, Illinois, has traditionally been one of those states that shrugs and votes for the leading guy at the time (after some 20 other states have gone first--talk about sloppy seconds) or casts hopeless but pointed symbolic votes. However, this time around several states have gotten competitive and voted in their own state governments to move their own primaries forward...especially those states which perceived themselves to actually have a real horse in this race...which of course includes the state Mr. Obama represents in the US Senate, which would be...Illinois.

For those of you outside the US, you always suspected we picked our presidents by drawing names out of a hat. No. I WISH it were that simple and honest. But it's just starting to get really interesting!

(Projected front-runners just three or four months ago? Hillary Clinton [D] is still in an undeclared and extremely tight race with John Edwards over the 2nd and 3rd positions. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani [R]? Not in the Top 3.)

ETA: (Expect a lot of these over the next 11 months, because it's changing all the time here). John Edwards is now making an excellent speech and claiming 2nd place, rightly, and saying that "No matter how you spin these results, the status quo lost and change won." Amen!