Iowa Does Matter

I followed the Iowa caucus results on television last night and listened to the candidate speeches that followed the announcement of the results.  There has been a lot of talk about the significance of Iowa in the primary process.  I see it as being of importance for several reasons including the fact that it is the first place that at least some folks actually vote.  It may be a small sampling of America, but it is infinitely better than all of the polls that have preceded it.  Based on history, Iowa does not necessarily pick the winner of the GOP primary process, but it does winnow the field of viable contenders.  Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry are now out of the running because of Iowa.

I continue to dismiss Ron Paul as a viable Republican candidate and suspect that John Huntsman is on his last legs.  It looks to me that there are three viable candidates left - Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich.  Last night, I was most impressed by Santorum and Gingrich, but could not quibble with Romney.  I continue to favor Gingrich, but can happily vote for any of these three come November 2012.  I see Paul as a possible danger should he decide to mount a third party campaign.  If he does that, I suspect that it will probably ensure Obama's reelection.  Obviously, I hope that he will decide against that course of action.

The American political process is rough and this election cycle is beginning to heat up.  I dislike negativity just as much as the next fellow, but believe that the airing or dirty linen is a necessary part of the process.  Gingrich is the most recent recipient of a spate of attack ads that appear to have knocked him out of a better showing in Iowa.  It will be interesting to see how he answers these attacks in the New Hampshire campaign.  At this point in the process, these candidates are increasingly talking to two audiences.  First, they have to convince the Republican Party that they are true conservatives.  Second, they have to convince the general electorate that they are capable of governing from the middle.  At least some of the current criticism of these candidates revolves around this conundrum.

As I have said before, I am a staunch fiscal conservative, but I want a president that can not only address the dangerous financial problems that face this nation, but one that can also bring this country back together.   It appears to me that these three men are capable of doing this.  I might prefer Gingrich, but I believe that any one of them will do a better job of it than President Obama.