Drawing: Faces #1332 ― Rand Paul caucusers in Council Bluffs, Iowa

By Jack Brummet

 The B Side:

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Scott Siepker - Iowa nice (includes a couple of NSFW phrases)

Scott Siepker - Iowa nice.  A response from Iowa to the media and flyover crowd:

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Drudge Report predicts Hillary exit, stage left

Senator Hillary Clinton: relegated to the shadows?

According to the Drudge Report, tomorrow's likely double-digit defeat in New Hampshire, a collapse in national polls and a probable drastic fund-raising slowdown are pushing Hillary Clinton to pull out of the race.

"Senator Hillary Clinton is preparing for a tough decision: Does she get out of the race? And when?! 'She can't take multiple double-digit losses in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada," laments one top campaign insider to the DRUDGE REPORT. "If she gets too badly embarrassed, it will really harm her. She doesn't want the Clinton brand to be damaged with back-to-back-to-back defeats."Meanwhile, Democrat hopeful John Edwards has confided to senior staff that he is staying in the race because Hillary "could soon be out." "Her money is going to dry up," Edwards confided, a top source said Monday morning.

"Key players in Clinton's inner circle are said to be split. James Carville is urging her to fight it out through at least February and Super Tuesday, where she has a shot at thwarting Barack Obama in a big state. "She did not work this hard to get out after one state! All this talk is nonsense," said one top adviser. But others close to the former first lady now see no possible road to victory, sources claim. "

Take it for what it's worth. Matt Drudge is often right on the money. On the other hand, he has also had headlines about the John Edward's love-child, and an unnamed Obama scandal, neither of which actually materialized. Neither of those two bogus stories were ever retracted or corrected.


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Huckabee & Obama take the Iowa contest

click the winners to enlarge

Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama took the Republican and Democratic caucus votes in Iowa on Wednesday, and in the Democratic race, left Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd on the sidelines, as they dropped out of the race. Mitt Romney is sweating. Hillary Clinton "the electable one" is really sweating. John Edwards feels OK. He survived another day. Rudy? McCain? Richardson? The rest of the pack? Hanging on by their fingernails, or mired in the back where they've always been...

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Political hero Joe Biden throws in the towel; hold your nose and stand behind Edwards or Obama

click to enlarge Senator Joe Biden

Senator Joe Biden was right. A campaign video:



Sadly, but unfortunately wisely, Senator Biden announced following the Iowa caucuses that he was abandoning his run for the Presidency. I had always hoped that Senators Edwards, Clinton, and Obama would decimate each other and that the populace would race to embrace Smilin' Joe in the breach. It became clear last night that was not going to happen, and the Senator decided to shut down his shoestring operation.

Senator Biden went his own way this time around, and often during the debates, the other candidates would admit "Joe is right," or "Joe Biden said it best," or "As Joe pointed out." The Senator brought great ideas and candor to the race, and he would have brought those same ideas and values to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Fortunately, we still have Joe to kick around. He is, after all, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (one of the most important committees in Congress).

Joe Biden's concession/withdrawal speech from YouTube:



Like Mario Cuomo of years past, this was a guy I really wanted to be my President. Kerry, Dukakis, Mondale, Carter, I held my nose and mailed in the check or doorbelled for. . .I could get behind Joe. But that was not to be.
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Obama climbing...with one day to go to the Iowa caususes

click to enlarge Obama, Edwards, and Clinton

Barack Obama pulls in 32 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers, up from 28 percent in the Des Moines Register's late November poll, while Hillary Clinton, held steady at 25 percent and Ex-Senator John Edwards held at 24 percent. This leaves Hillary with a fair shot at coming in third. The poll reflects continued insanity and volatility in the contest, even now the year of campaigning In Iowa is over. One third of likely caucusgoers say they could be persuaded to choose someone else before Thursday evening!!!
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