Analysis: Obama Ahead; GOP A Headache
Obama Attains Front-Runner Status; Huckabee Win Roils GOP Race
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Play CBS Video
Video
Obama Basks In Iowa Victory
"CBS News Raw": A triumphant Barack Obama addressed a noisy crowd of supporters in Iowa, thanking them for his victory there and trumpeting a message of unity and change.
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Video
Huckabee Revels In Iowa Win
"CBS News RAW": Republican Mike Huckabee thanked a crowd of supporters and pledged to continue his fight for the presidency all the way to the steps of the White House.
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Photo
Republican presidential hopeful former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, left, is joined by wife Janet at a victory party in Des Moines, Iowa, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008, after his win in the Iowa caucus. (AP)
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Photo Essay
Barack Obama
A look at the life and meteoric rise of the president-elect.
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Photo Essay
Mike Huckabee
A look at the life and times of Mike Huckabee.
Voters in Iowa sent a strong wake-up call to the establishments of both political parties, validating the messages of two candidates battling against Republican and Democratic orthodoxy and machinery. The most unpredictable presidential race in modern political history now heads to a crucial showdown in New Hampshire.
For winners Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee, their campaigns could hardly have scripted the results better. Fueled by young voters and an electorate motivated strongly by a desire for change, Democratic voters handed Obama an early mandate for the message he has carried throughout a year in which Hillary Clinton's experience and establishment support appeared nearly insurmountable.
Click here for complete Iowa results.
Huckabee took advantage of a Republican party dispirited by an unpopular president and unexcited by their choices for a presidential standard-bearer. Backed by energized Christian evangelicals, Huckabee toppled Mitt Romney, the only candidate in the GOP field to mount an aggressive, well-funded, traditional Iowa campaign. With relatively no real campaign organization at his disposal, Huckabee relied primarily on a tightly-knit community of Christian conservatives to deliver his victory. The already fluid Republican race is now in near-chaos. Any one of four candidates could still emerge as the winner.
For Hillary Clinton, the party's former front-runner, Iowa delivered a crushing blow, but not a knock-out. In large numbers, Iowans told caucus surveyors they were less concerned about electability and experience, two qualities Clinton used as a basis for her campaign.
Iowa was long viewed as a tough state for Clinton to win. Facing opposition from a veteran of the caucus process in John Edwards and a neighboring senator in Barack Obama, some of the New York Senator's strategists advised her to skip Iowa altogether. It may be a decision she will regret. Every single major Democratic candidate made a full commitment to winning Iowa, turning it into a full-fledged battle.
Clinton's third-place showing effectively shatters any lingering perceptions of her inevitable march to the nomination. A victory in New Hampshire is now crucial to her campaign's future.
Obama's convincing victory could well trigger a series of primary wins. Heading to New Hampshire, Obama is poised to capture the imaginations and votes of independent voters who make up a full third of that state's electorate. Then comes the South Carolina two weeks later where African-Americans will constitute over half of the Democratic primary vote.
Barack Obama's path to the nomination, once a narrow and hazardous road, is now clearly mapped out. With a series of early wins, he may be unstoppable when some 22 states vote on February 5th. He has now captured the front-runner's crown for the Democratic nomination.
While Democrats found clarity in Iowa, the Republicans created confusion. Mike Huckabee's impressive victory will be next to impossible to replicate in New Hampshire, where economic and libertarian-minded GOP voters and independents far outnumber the evangelicals. But, following New Hampshire comes South Carolina, where Huckabee could well attract the kind of devoted following he found in Iowa.
So New Hampshire is looking like a showdown between Romney and John McCain, whose once left-for-dead campaign has surged in the Granite State in recent weeks. Seeking a repeat of his primary victory in 2000, McCain has returned to his "straight talk" style. And he has had the state largely to himself as other candidates swarmed Iowa. McCain and Obama will now fight over New Hampshire’s independent voters, who can participate in either party's.
For Romney, the failure to win Iowa badly cripples him. His strategy was based on sweeping the early contests. Romney has sought to convince a skeptical conservative base of the party that he was one of them and that his recent conversion to core party concerns like abortion, gun control and gay marriage was authentic. The fact that those same conservatives instead rallied around a little-known, under-funded former governor from Arkansas strongly suggests those overtures were rejected.
Rudy Giuliani is still a wild card on the Republican side. His strategy to deemphasize the early contests and make his stands in the larger states that vote later suddenly looks more viable than it did just a week ago. Should Huckabee, McCain and Romney emerge with split decisions in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and even Michigan, Giuliani's time and efforts in Florida could pay off come January 29th. But that’s a big gamble.
Almost all of the Republican candidates have had a turn as the favorite over the past year. After Iowa, the picture remains murkier than ever. For tonight at least, Huckabee is the only winner so far. And Mitt Romney is the only clear loser.
Iowa will make Democrats will feel emboldened, regardless of who emerges as the eventual nominee. Turnout shattered records -- more than 236,000 Democrats voted, including a large number of self-described independents -- up from 125,000 four years ago. For months polls have shown a substantially higher level of excitement among Democrats. Now Iowa voters have proved that is correct.
After a year of speculation, voters have begun to do the talking. The voters of Iowa sent clear signals to candidates of both parties. They picked fresh faces.
By Vaughn Ververs
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.




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See all 95 CommentsThe big bucks that control most of the Republican Party and far too much of the Democratic Party have forgotten that rape goes a lot smoother if your victim doesn''t know that they''re being raped.
Mike Huckabee has a strong appeal to any Libertarian supporter (especially in comparison to any Democratic candidate). His platform includes much of what the Libertarians stand for - smaller government closer to the people, reduced government waste, lower taxes, 2nd ammendment rights, and so on. In fact, I challenge you to find a better mainstream candidate (Republican or Democrat) who stands a chance of winning that better appeals to Libertarian values.
You also don''t have to be an Evangelical to appreciate someone''s strong personal faith and unwavering values - especially when they have a proven track record of public service that is even more noteworthy.
It really is Time to Rise and Shine again America.
Barack Obama for President of the United States of America !
Really good people... really good.
Ron Paul.
This will divide the GOP along sectarian lines. Huckabee is fomenting sectarian strife. Do we really need sunni/shia here in America? THINK PEOPLE!!!
Stop with the bigotry. Huck pardoned murderers. Argue and discuss issues. I realize that taking what amounts to a bribe is hard to defend (Huckabee #6 most corrupt politician according to judicialwatch.org) but religious bigotry will tear the country asunder.
Was the election fair and were the votes properly counted and verified?
Regarding the title of this "piece" "GOP headache". Is the author trying to say that the left doesn''t have a "headache"? If this guy doesn''t think that mr & mrs clinton aren''t going to pull out all the stops, he''s as blind as most of the left. Your golden boy better watch out. She won''t just go for what he wrote when in the 3rd grade, she''ll go back to when he was potty trained and weaned.
As for the rest of the world being SOOOOOO proud that a black man (actually half black but you guys don''t talk about that), get real.
Regarding the title of this "piece" "GOP headache". Is the author trying to say that the left doesn''''t have a "headache"? If this guy doesn''''t think that mr & mrs clinton aren''''t going to pull out all the stops, he''''s as blind as most of the left. Your golden boy better watch out. She won''''t just go for what he wrote when in the 3rd grade, she''''ll go back to when he was potty trained and weaned.
As for the rest of the world being SOOOOOO proud that a black man (actually half black but you guys don''''t talk about that), get real.
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Posted by Xlib at 06:43 AM : Jan 04, 2008
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The headache for the Fascist is obvious and should be to anyone. They can not attract independents and Real Republican''s. If you look at the numbers the number of people turning out in the Democratic side nearly DOUBLED the amount turning out on the Fascist side. Yep I''d say the "Republican" Party has a very serious problem. Sieg Heil Bush!!
The results and what''s mentioned in the article leave me scratching my head more so than the article title. There is no mention of Dr. Paul whatsoever, he had a 6% lead over One Platform Giuliani and 3% away from third. The author mentions Giuliani as a dark horse and Romney taking N.H. but how is he conveniently forgetting that Dr. Paul is a libertarian leaning candidate going into a libertarian state? I''m hoping for a much better showing. We need to get the word out, the media has been much better in helping but it comes down to us passing the word and donating money. Syjen24 and anyone else wanting a candidate with all those qualities go read up on Dr. Paul, it can''t hurt can it?
The results and what''s mentioned in the article leave me scratching my head more so than the article title. There is no mention of Dr. Paul whatsoever, he had a 6% lead over One Platform Giuliani and 3% away from third. The author mentions Giuliani as a dark horse and Romney taking N.H. but how is he conveniently forgetting that Dr. Paul is a libertarian leaning candidate going into a libertarian state? I''m hoping for a much better showing. We need to get the word out, the media has been much better in helping but it comes down to us passing the word and donating money. Syjen24 and anyone else wanting a candidate with all those qualities go read up on Dr. Paul, it can''t hurt can it?
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Posted by Stump61 at 07:32 AM : Jan 04, 2008
You make some very valid points and Paul IS the only Republican promising anything but the same tired old things we have now. As I travel throughout this nation I find that to be the LAST thing people want. I doubt Ron will ever get close to a fair shake though... The Industrial Military Complex controls the Money in the party and the money is moving the machinery.
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Posted by skyk at 07:35 AM : Jan 04, 2008
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Hey Bro! Semper Fi! Well when you look at the polling in the states outside of Iowa though, Hillary is still the canidate to beat. On the other hand the Republican side Huckabee has a good lead nationally over Rudy, who has fallen and can''t get up. It doesn''t look good for the Nazi''s though when you look at the polls of people''s wants and needs when it comes to a leader. Bush has pretty much done what Hoover did to the Nazi''s back in the 30''s. As for the foot, the fractures in 69 didn''t heal properly so they are going to do surgery, rebreak it and try to repair it. LOL Vietnam, the nightmare that just keeps on giving. LOL Sieg Heil Bush
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Posted by erichsh at 07:58 AM : Jan 04, 2008
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What is it with you Nazi''s? I grew up with the McCarthy bunch controling the media and I know what that''s all about... It seems all my life you lower than life creatures have been trying to snuff out the Free Press and I find it offensive. Just who would you suggest determine what we can or can not hear or see? You Fascist have so many outlets you can go to and hear nothing but the party line, why do you insist that we ALL hear it? I can think for myself and I can read for myself.... I do not need Pat Robertson and the Reich telling me what I can or can not hear and see. Sieg Heil Bush!!
Posted by jack3213 at 07:08 AM : Jan 04, 2008"
I sure hope not!! Believe me, as much as I don''t want Hillary or Barack in the White House, I dislike the idea of Guiliani even more. McCain, maybe. But, please NOT Guiliani.
Sounds like a$$-whuppin time for the Dems! Payback time for all those insults from the Darth Bushits!
Suck it up Repugs.
The turnout disparity is a rel headache foe November for the GOP. Iowa is the most evenly split blue-rwd state in the country; it went for Bush by less than 1% last time. A 2-to-1 turnout there for the Dems spells panic time for the GOP.
They''ll be resorting early and often to their tried and true smear tactics but Obma has already faced the and nothing has stuck becaause people know the game they''re replaying and it won''t work this time.
different times folks....theres was never a boogie man. i remember the lies we were fed during Reagan,
the Insurgencies in Latin america sponsored by Ollie north and his paper shredder.......
Obama/ Clinton is the ticket....
new ideas, new changes.....
But when you get out of flyover sister-marrying land, Huckie may not do quite so well. Tent revival preachers aren''t in favor much in California or the Northeast, nor even in the cities of the midwest. Only in pig-f*cking land!
is it even relevant?
why is the US still stuck using such an arcane
medieval system in the first place?
Iowa????? i know potatoes come from there but what else???
id still not vote for him.......
an end times preacher and Dispensationalist will only further the end times mentality and will probably help bring it about,
what was it Voltaire wrote?
"Men who believe absurdities will commit atrocities
Posted by USBrit at 10:00 AM : Jan 04, 2008"
About as many as those who worship an old woman with grand children who wear swastikas or dictator pseudo-presidentes who encourages his people to leech off of other countries.
he does not seem to understand evolution.
Congrats on the most racists post have read in years. Calling a black man a "boy" is as bad as calling him the "N" word.
Raving, small minded, racist. That''s the GOP!
Congrats on the most racists post have read in years. Calling a black man a "boy" is as bad as calling him the "N" word.
Raving, small minded, racist. That''''s the GOP!
Posted by richvart at 01:12 PM : Jan 04, 2008"
You don''t know ANYthing about politics do you? You just wanted to get your insult in. Just like ALL the democrats on this board...
Maybe I don''t know anything about politics, but I do know that calling a black man a "boy" is racist and pathetic.
Considering that you defended someone who used the term I would say those words clearly apply to you.
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