Peaking too soon
I'm not that surprised by the results from Iowa. The last couple weeks have not been kind to Dean. He has seemed off message and people completely blew up that episode where he yelled at that old dude. At its core, I think here is the problem: a lot of people are angry about Pres. Bush and Dean channeled into that anger. During the summer, he was riding high as more and more people got on board with his message.

When the primaries got closer, voters took a second look at him and saw that he is missing some of the qualities they are looking for in a President: optimism, control, and the undefinable presence that a President possesses. Of course, he could come back and win NH and steamroll everyone, but I don't think so. In some ways, I see him as a much more successful McCain or Nader who tapped into a palpable disgust and was better financed.

I'm still not quite sure what Kerry's win in Iowa means. It's not good news in NH for Clark, who I support. Clark and Kerry are fighting for the same voters in NH and Kerry will probably edge past Clark for second place in this week's polls. In the end, he may overtake Dean, who could conceivably drop to third.

In Clark's favor: next stop after NH is the South, where he should do well. Edwards should also do well in the South. After all the infighting, it appears his sunny message is wearing well on the voters.