Caucuses

Are caucuses supposed to be this Caucasian? Bad pun, sorry.

The results are in:

John Kerry 38%

John Edwards 32%

Howard Dean 18%

It could be worse, you know. If one of the two right-wing Democrats had run in Iowa and had won, it would be very bad indeed. New Hampshire will really show if Democrats are really interested in moving away from the extreme right. If one of these three wins New Hampshire, things are looking good.

John "Comeback" Kerry is OK. He is the liberal husband of a multi-millionaire (or is his wife a billionaire, I can never keep them straight). He is a veteran. He is tall, charismatic, and somewhat attractive. He has a sensibility that is not mired in privilege.

John Edwards is an exciting choice and would make an excellent nominee. I am not certain that Edwards would move us off the road to righteous ruin we are on. Southerners seem to embrace the fire and brimstone of fundamentalism which includes subtly racist, misogynist and homophobic rhetoric. I am suspicious of all politicians from the south, at this point.

I still prefer Howard Dean at this early stage of the 2004 presidential campaign. He is an intellectual with a sensible spiritual outlook on life. I can see him really moving America back in the direction of civil liberty and social justice.

If these are the three we are to select from, we could do worse! At least they each have a blog at their site!

I like Dick Gephardt, but it is good to see him leave the political arena gracefully. Americans would never elect a guy whose eyebrows are invisible! He's a guy with class and there aren't enough people like him in electoral politics.

I certainly hope that Lieberman's absence from Iowa will spell the end of his dreadful candidacy. He really should join the republican party and do his war-mongering for the fundamentalists in the White House (they always welcome a non-christian right-winger into the fold, if only for a laugh)! Lieberman must be a hoot in a jester's cap doing a little dance for the military industrialists and the oil guys! I'll bet they love him! Yes, Mr. Lieberman, sir, please step to the right, you'll be more comfortable over there. Let's hope he follows Gephardt out of the race.

I would never support Wesley Clark in the primary, because he is a general and I think it very rare that a military tactician makes a good president.

I love Al Sharpton. Al Sharpton says the things that nobody else wants to discuss and acts as the conscience of a bloated people. He points out that racism is a real issue and social inequity needs to be addressed. Since America would never elect a black man as president, I remain grateful that he is in the race making noise.

I have voted for John Kerry in the past. I used to live in Massachusetts and I voted to send him to the Senate three times. He's OK. He's a liberal with deep pockets, and those are the best kinds of liberals.

I wonder if he can resist the fundamentalist corporate movement against worker's rights, though. Can he resist lowering the wages of the working poor who are stuffing ketchup into bottles for the Heinz family? Will he, even though a liberal, erode the rights of workers for his own personal profit as the current president is doing? Will he work to reverse the anti-worker legislation pushed forth by Bush? And, even though Kerry has stepped back towards the left regarding the "war," do you think he might join Lieberman standing in the shadows and blinded by the right? Can he get us out of Iraq without completely surrendering it to the fundamentalists?

Irrespective of which democrat runs against Bush, any of these three would be a dramatic improvement. It would be good to have a northerner, especially someone from Massachusetts, in the White House again.

Is Kerry left enough to be considered middle-of-the-road; or, is he still to far to the right to be effective?

Do you have a preference for one of the top three Iowa Caucus winners?

Peace.