Iowans Vote their Hearts and Values

Once again the voters didn’t listen to the media and instead voted their hearts and their values. There will be a lot of speeches about comebacks in New Hampshire but what happened tonight is historic.

On the democratic side an untested young black senator beat a senator who had previously been a Vice Presidential candidate and had been campaigning non stop in Iowa with his own and union funds. Barack Obama also beat the front runner, the wife of a two-term President and a two-term Senator herself. Obama appealed to Iowans hearts and minds and the want for someone other than the old tired choices plus managed to win in a state that is something like 95% Caucasian.

On the other hand I am currently listening to some talking heads discuss Huckabee’s win and they still don’t get it. They are saying this is a repudiation of Bush. No, it is a validation of what voters have been saying for the past eight years – they want candidates who share their core moral values and yes, religion. Sorry, Mitt, but not even your money can get past that fundamental truth.

It is interesting to note that this also played out in the second tier of the Republican candidates. In spite of Iowa’s The Register nominating McCain, Thompson, the candidate who some joked never showed up for his own campaign, still managed to run neck and neck with McCain. Again it boils down to values.

In addition Barack, Huckabee and Thompson all share another common factor – likeability. No matter how hard Clinton and McCain will try to spin it – people simply don’t like them. But you know those two old campaigners will have the big guns out starting with the early news shows Friday morning trying to explain how it “really wasn’t a loss”. And the media will go along with it as evidenced by the following quote from Roger Simon’s Politico column today: “Several times we have been declared dead,” McCain said. “`It’s up to you (i.e., the media) who the winners are and who the losers are in the Iowa caucuses.”

I can only hope the voters continue to bewilder the media by continuing to vote for their values and with their hearts.

Huckabee and Hllary - A Fearsome Twosome

All eyes are watching the outcome of the Iowa caucus and straw poll. I don’t know who will win but I know who I don’t want to win – Huckabee and Hillary. Looking ahead to the general election this fall I can’t think of a more polarizing twosome than those two. Hillary vs. Romney, Huckabee vs. Obama even Edwards vs. McCain, actually any other combination is manageable but the choice between Hillary vs. Huckabee will split the red and blue states even further apart.

If liberals have never liked Bush and still refuse to accept him as the president and commander in chief can you imagine their reaction to a former evangelical Baptist minister? Even moderates have a problem with this man who once defamed gays and who said that woman should be subservient to their husbands. Plus true conservatives have a problem with his stands on many issues ranging from immigration to fiscal management.

On the other hand, there is Hillary, whose very names makes conservatives want to run screaming. According to the New York Post’s January 1, 2008 edition a USA Today/Gallop poll shows that Hillary’s negative ratings are now at a whopping 52%.

It’s one thing to disagree or even dislike another party’s candidate but Huckabee and Hillary generate true hatred and even fear of what would happen if elected. A general election pitting these two against each other could very well tear the country apart.

John McCain's "Surge" - Real or Manufactured?

I heard it numerous times over the weekend - John McCain is surging in Iowa and is making a spectacular comeback. What brought on this "surge"? Were the people of Iowa and New Hampshire suddenly shifting from the other Republican candidates to McCain? Is he using some new strategy to win over the people? Are Republican voters ignoring McCain's position on immigration, torture and his health care plan and nonetheless supporting him? Well, no to all of the above.

What happened is simple. The MSM (Main Stream Media), who have always loved McCain, have created the illusion that he is rising up in the polls. They do this all the time and it is important to watch how they manipulate people. McCain had been trailing way behind in both Iowa and New Hampshire when suddenly two newspapers throw their support to him. The Boston Herald and Iowa's The Register announced that McCain is their Republican candidate.

Then the MSM announces that there is new interest in McCain and he is gaining more support. Yet this swing in potential votes towards McCain initially had nothing to do with his positions or how the voters actually feel about him. Instead it was completely manufactured by the MSM who hope that if they say something often enough it might actually become true. Not to mention the fact that this is a perfect example of how the MSM makes news rather than reporting it. Since then even more newspapers are supporting McCain and voters have been led by the MSM into McCains camp. But it will be interesting to know if this manufactured support will translate to real votes.