Human bodyshield

It seems the venerable Slate has finally agreed with me that Clark and Lieberman's move out of Iowa was a smart one, and it worked well so far.

William Saletan argues that by both pulling out, the story became Iowa and not Clark or Lieberman. "Every story on them today is full of quotes from Iowa Democrats and rival campaigns heaping pious, self-interested scorn on them for turning tail." To my earlier point yesterday that the punditry are saying watch out for IA to bite Clark/Lieberman in the butt in November 2004, Saletan retorts, "you may recall how little George W. Bush's debacle in the 2000 New Hampshire primary hurt his performance there in the general election."

Whomever on the Clark campaign leaked that they too were dropping out got a chalk board lashing from the General (who lost his voice from his extensive travels and speeches while having the cold) but should get a pat on the back from Joe's crew. It is weren't for Clark, there would have been more 'buzzard's circling the Lieberman campaign' stories.

And while it is true that Lieberman has less cash than Clark and not much more to show for over six months of running (besides some speeches and boos), this move clearly staves off the inevitable. If Lieberman can bypass both IA and NH then he might have a better shot at Oklahoma or Arizona which actually have more delegates to win over than tiny IA or NH.

Let's face facts here: New Hampshire is whiter than Utah, and much smaller than the beehive state too. Yet you don't see presidential wannabes kiss butt in Utah. Why? Well for one, it is a lock for GWB and secondly, its straw poll isn't until February 23, which is better than nothing, but still a long way away. It is true that New Hampshireties take their duty very seriously and vote in high numbers and are well educated about the candidates and their positions. But they are a bit spoiled, as are Iowans. Most states don't even see presidential candidates or nominees, let alone expect them to knock on their door and hold town hall meetings in their town/county. Stop hogging!