This is what happens when you have two candidates who are running on who they are as opposed to what they'll do. Should you vote for the First Woman or the First Black Man? Their policies are virtually identical, and they're both equally unaccomplished in terms of actual policy. In Obama, you've got a great orator and writer, and lots of raw intelligence, but not much else. In Clinton, you've got a Clinton, which means she'll bring the whole inventory at you if you're in her way...

All the Dems who've done anything in their political careers are boring white guys - or Hispanic guys oddly named Richardson - who didn't make it past Iowa.

If I were a Dem, I'd agree that it sucks. A Richardson/Obama ticket would probably be unbeatable.

Don't the state parties have to take most of the blame? It's not like they didn't know this would happen. Should the national party have no control at all over the timing of primaries?

Live by identity politics, die by identity politics. It was cool when it was to be a coronation, now not so cool as a race fight. But at least it has exposed them for what they are, worthless candidates.

The whole purpose of Iowa is to stop reasonable candidates in their tracks, and to give a big leg up to people that even many Democrats don't want by the time the general election rolls around.

I believe there is some recognition of that fact in the efforts of other states to move up their primaries, and these efforts look much less silly if they might prevent a replay of what's happening right now.

Let's review what happened. After a ridiculously protracted campaign season in which people were exhausted by the time the first vote was cast (though they knew no more about the candidates than when the campaign began) Obama won the Iowa Caucus, and was almost instantly proclaimed unstoppable. Democrats just ignored the fact that the Iowa Caucus has NEVER FREAKING EVER picked a Democratic winner, unless their only choice was an unopposed incumbent. Instead, they have a weird prescience when it comes to spotting the loser. Winning the Iowa Caucus is like getting kissed on the mouth by Al Pacino. People who don't know this should get out of politics and stick to losing their family savings playing Blackjack.

In a self-fulfilling prophecy, Democrats bustled Obama from one victory to another, and now he has hit a solid brick wall. Now there is no way that the Clintons will not fight to the last ugly pantsuit. Her duplicity in Florida and Michigan will now be rewarded. Some people who ignored it (bad for the party to talk about such things) are now kicking themselves, and some others are glad she did it, because now she might be their only chance.

This is Karma for Florida 2000. Every vote must be counted, remember?

Question is why would anyone vote for people like this with zilch in the way of qualifications for the job who are running around like blind people playing musical chairs?
They're pathetic, specially Obama.

Two Clues huh, OK, lets try greed and arrogance.

AL -- the weakness in the Democratic Party is structural. It's a party based on a fantasy view of the world by rich white yuppies allied with various grievance groups, minorities, etc. Fundamentally hostile to indifferent to the concerns of the average middle class person.

Look at the field of the Democrats: only Biden and Richardson had a national presence and a serious record, and neither of those guys was anything to write home about. By contrast the Republican field had Romney, McCain, Thompson, and Rudy. On the second tier they had Tancredo and Hunter, who weren't good or dynamic candidates but had a record of accomplishment.

Glen is absolutely correct, Iowa's skewing of Democratic races has been disastrous. Last time around it had the implosion of Howard Dean "Yearrrrghhhh!" and the rush to unvetted John Kerry on the assumption "well he's a vet." But the larger issue is that the Dem field is very thin. There are few serious pols who exist around issues (such as Rudy's tough on Crime/Terrorism, Fred's Federalism, Romney's business oriented technocracy, or McCain's surge).

Instead it's identity politics as the Party avoids urgently discussing any real-life issues. You are quite right this should have been a slam dunk. Instead Mr. "The Average White Person is Racist" Obama seems intent on dragging down the Democratic Party with him.

But what the heck do I know?

I'm just the average racist white person. According to Obama.

Look on the bright side, Marc. The donks have at least shown they can organize a circular firing squad.

...they just don't have Debra Bowen!!

A.L.

Politics is about the search for advantage, at all levels. The Democratic Party did not have a primary system that acknowledged this enough, especially given Glen's point re: the endless campaign season and growing desire of states to prevent themselves from being marginalized.

They missed those things, and one way or another, they will pay now. Which is fine, that's how lessons are learned in politics. And the process continues.

Think it through, guys. Can you imagine a future in which every down-ticket Democrat is not asked publicly about his/her stance on the Wright and Obama statements? Especially if Obama is at the head of the ticket, but even if not.

The resulting airing of national bed linen may be good for the republic in the long run, but it's hard to imagine it being good for the Dems in the short. As #3 up there said, "Live by identity politics, die by identity politics."

All of us conservatives are having a field day watching the self destruction of the Democrat party.

I think that we will be able to smell the stench of the burn in Denver from here.

Michigan and Florida do not want to spend more money from the public coffers to bolster the positions of failed political parties. The state committees made their choices and now that they have to live with it, they cry foul. What a bunch of whiners. They are like a teenager who refuses to take responsibility for their own stupid choices.

Sorry, AL, they get NO sympathy from me. NONE.