It’s not the beginning of the Election 2008 race, but it is the first caucus in a rather small state with great impact that has some candidates seeing their dreams deferred.

Iowa, a state of gently rolling plains in the heart of the Midwest and the harbinger for the once and future leader of the United States, set the stage in a great face off of presidential candidates.

The state gets considerable attention every four years because it holds America‘s first presidential caucus - a gathering of voters to select delegates to the state convention. Iowa has become the starting gun for choosing the two major-party candidates for president.

2008 just as in past years has national and, in some cases international media, giving Iowa about half of all the attention accorded the national candidate selection process, which gives Iowa voters enormous leverage-an honor Iowans hold dear.

The 15 Republicans & Democrats that round out the field of candidates entering this year’s caucus race have expended enormous effort to reach voters in each of Iowa's 99 counties, now some of them are on their way home their dreams deferred.

And the Winners Are…


Iowa caucus winners Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee hope that the four solid days of campaigning they’ve planned for the New Hampshire caucus will be enough to build on the momentum of their hard-fought victories in the Hawkeye State. Here’s the thing - the voters of New Hampshire are a infinitely different breed than in Iowa. They have a different set of priorities that the challengers are seeking to capitalize on to diminish the impact of the Iowa outcome.


In general, New Hampshire’s Republicans care more about limiting taxes and less about a conservative Christian president. Granite State Democrats are looking for a candidate who can get the U.S. out of Iraq as much as they want “change” back in Washington.


Those challenges present opportunities for the aspiring front runners, Obama and Huckabee, who took home gold in Iowa, besting well-organized and funded opponents. With 100% of the precincts reporting last evening, Obama had 38% of the vote, John Edwards had 30% and Hillary Clinton had 29 percent.


After the caucuses Biden and Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut both announced they were dropping out of the 2008 presidential race after poor showings. Senator Dodd registered at 0.2 percent in the Iowa polls.


On the Republican side, with 96% of precincts reporting, Huckabee had 34 percent, Mitt Romney 25% with Fred Thompson and John McCain in a close race for third with 13% each. Ron Paul garnered 10% of the vote. Rudy Giuliani pulled 3% of the vote even though he didn’t campaign there.


The Iowa caucuses were more heavily attended than previously predicted. The Iowa Democratic Party said it had experienced record turnout, with 96 percent of precincts reporting 227,000 caucus-goers.


The heavy turnout favored Obama, who fashioned himself as the candidate of change and was heavily courting first-time caucus-goers. Huckabee’s campaign reported that the former Arkansas governor was delayed 30 minutes trying to access a caucus site in Waterloo as traffic into the caucus location was at a standstill.


Obama rested on the themes of hope and change that have built his campaign from the start, and re-pledged several campaign promises, including trying to find solutions for global problems and pulling troops out of Iraq.


Des Moines Register Political Columnist David Yepsen said the results suggest that caucus-goers who liked the “change” argument and didn’t want Clinton broke for Obama over Edwards.


First-tier candidates were hoping for break-out numbers to distinguish them in a hotly-contested race. The fate of a few second-tier contestants was hanging in the balance, as Dodd’s and Biden’s departures demonstrated.


The high turnout excited many caucus-goers. Registration at one precinct at Iowa State Historical Museum was 40% which was nearly four times the amount the Democratic precinct chair was expecting. The chairman of the told caucus-goers right before the 7 pm deadline for registration to participate that “everyone who wants to register can register,” generating strong applause from those in attendance. The chairman then phoned in the allocated delegates to the central database.


The Republicans had a much simpler process. It was a straw poll. Caucus-goers wrote the name they wanted and stuck it in a box. The names were counted up and the delegates apportioned by percentages.


Candidates second test takes place on Tuesday in New Hampshire – stay tuned!