Catching up on reading comments more closely, and I noticed this from first-time-poster Tim Cottle:
Posted yesterday for the first time. Attended the Iowa caucus (also for
the first time as I am a recent transplant to Iowa) and at my precinct
Obama had exactly 1/2 the vote of 184 voters. Edwards and Clinton split
the remainder almost evenly. Observations – There was not an African
American at my caucus location thus Obama is drawing from all races.
Clinton camp was predominantly the over 50 crowd and the party leaders
in the county heavily favored her. Obama had 90% of the voters under 20
and those that had never voted and were registering at the door. Obama
had the most organized ground organization. Edwards had the support of
local law enforcement and a mix of the remaining youth, professionals,
labor and seniors. It would have been a dead heat had the youth not
been energized and organized to get out and vote. Finally, there isn’t
a lot of negativity for Obama but a little mostly from the Clinton
camp, none against Edwards from anyone, and a ton against Clinton. She
is not well liked even in her own party. She may be the only democrat
that could lose the national election. Edwards would be a shoo in.
Of course, I don’t know Tim from Adam, so I’m just taking him at his word that he’s in Iowa, he was at the caucuses, and his name’s Tim Cottle. But until somebody provides me with evidence otherwise, I thought his comments relevant enough to promote to a separate post.
Here’s what he had had to say the previous day, in response to this post (which was elaborated upon in this column):
Iowa matters and it should. Just as NH, SC and the states that follow
will matter. A state has to be first. Why not a state that forces
candidates to define who they are and what they stand for? Until now, I
never quite appreciated or supported the caucus format. Having recently
moved to Iowa from the Carolinas, I now see how it forces candidates to
get close and personal and commit to their beliefs. Commercials and
sound bites alone will not guarantee anything here. Iowans have come to
expect a discussion of the issues and solutions. Voting is a privilege
and should be entered into in an educated and informed manner. I have
heard or met all of the major candidates. Doing so has taken time (well
over two hours and more like 20 hours). This is time I have committed
in order to be an educated voter. To spend an additional two hours
tonight is a small price to pay for having the benefit of a caucus. All
of those at the caucuses tonight will have the same commitment. Food
for thought… is spending 3 hours at a football game, watching TV or a
movie more important than choosing our president?
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When you listen to Obama you get fresh approaches instead of the same old, same old, that didn’t work the first time around. He makes sense; he’s not just spreading lovely generalities around. And I don’t think I can take another 4 years of partisan bickering. We need someone who will approach both sides, so that if work can’t be done in one area, it can happen in another. I know that Clinton is known for working with both sides, but the name is so sour to some people, that it will almost force republicans to rebuff her attempts if she becomes president. I have nothing against Edwards, except that he’s starting to sound divisive.
I could say something smart like it depends on the football game but I won’t. The best thing about this report is that a democrat moved from S.C to Iowa. If, we could get the rest of the secular progessives to go back to New England then we natives could breathe freely again.
I agree with Karen about Obama. He is by far the best candidate the democrats have to offer. My question is can he read and obey the Constitution? The only candidate that has demonstrate that ability so far is Ron Paul.
Brad brought up evolution and the guardians of the ivy halls of wisdom assured me that evolution is the thing. They say men came from monkees so what did politicians evolve from?
Richard L. Wolfe,
Obama taught constitution law for 11 years as a professor!
Anthony K., Fair enough. He can read the law and he can teach the law. Can he obey the law?
I won’t take the bait on that one Richard. Now to the topic. Just wanted to provide a personal observation from a regular person and not just the press on what transpired last night in Iowa. Anyway, I’ve had my chance to vet the candidates and made my decision publicly in a caucus last night. It was a great experience and I feel fortunate. Karen has very valid points. We should expect civility, respect and bi-partisanship from our leaders. We should accept no less. Civil discussion of the issues and a respect for one another is paramount if we are to fix this nation’s problems. They are not exclusive to any geography, region, religion or ethnicity. What can we learn from the past and how will we move forward under the current conditions to improve our lives and the lives of generations to come? Maybe naively, I believe we all have a basic desire for religious freedom, national security, education of our children, a clean environment, and financial independence. The differences should not be in the ultimate goals but in how to get there and that is what the presidential campaigns should be about.
Tim, You should have taken the bait. The idea’s you laid out adjusting for today’s world are exactly what the founding father’s believed in. There big mistake was not to bring the slaves and women into equality with the white men.
The reason no one wants to follow the Constitution is it requires a super majority to change it. The democrats and the republicans want to win by 1% or less and then run rough shod over the other party which theoretically represents one half of the nation.
I have watched them for years and in the House compromise isn’t even on the table.
Polls said over 70% of the people were against NAFTA-GATT yet repubicans and democrats alike, in a LAME DUCK session
voted it in.
If men came from Monkees, does that mean women came from The Partridge Family?
Brad, Why don’t we just compromise. The evolutionists evolved from monkees and the Christians were created by God that way everbody goes home with a piece of cake.
Barack did something that sent shockwaves across the oceanshores. He has just not won in a state 93%-95% white and 2.3% black but he has showed all of us in SOUTH CAROLINA that we can vote for him and feel secure about him WINNING in the general election. Barack is bridging the gap among whites and blacks; allowing the world to someday soon accept BARACK OBAMA as our first African-American president
Barack is quite the political rock star. He understands what is real in the world. Instead of inciting fear as the driving force behind foreign policy he reaches out to other countries and to the so-called rogue leaders who pose us no real danger. The real problems and threats to America are not the ragtag handful of terrorists who the Bush Administration has given legitimacy. Thank you Mr. Bush and the merry band of enablers who wish to continue the trillion dollar throw-away campaign in the Middle East.
Rather, the real threats come from domestic concerns such as the despair from unemployment, the hopelessness of a sick person without health insurance; drunk drivers; and anyone who is depressed and desperate enough to open fire in a mall, college campus or restaurant. These are threats that have long been ignored. And it’s costing us with one of the shortest life expectancies in the developed world. Our standard of living is in decline thanks to the wasted diversion of resources in far away places that pose no real threat to Americans.
Although not my first choice if Obama wins the Democratic nomination he will have my support 100%. He is a politician with vision and ability. My congratulations to a man who deserves the best.
Bud, Now don’t be a coward answer my questions. I agree with you about Obama. My first question is how do you seperate him from the democratic party ? His enemies won’t come from the right. His enemies will come from the left. All those white people in Iowa didn’t vote for him because of who he was. They voted for him because of who he wasn’t. He wasn’t Hillary Clinton, Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton.
How are you going to bring the country together unless you get the right onboard? The far left and the far right want to have EVERYTHING their way. How does Obama solve all that?