Iowa and beyond

Well we are nearly twelve hours removed from what was a very close and exciting Iowa Caucus. After I was able to digest and begin to understand the format of a caucus, I found the night’s activities to be very interesting, however, the impact of Iowa moving forward is still unclear.

Here is my quick list of “winners” and “losers” from Iowa:

Winners:

Gov. Mike Huckabee – The governor had to win Iowa to remain viable and this is exactly what he did. The margin, roughly ten points, was even more impressive than the victory itself. Huckabee’s victory does not make him the national front-runner for his party’s nomination; however, without Iowa Huckaby was done.

Sen. Barack Obama – Barack did not have to win Iowa in order to stay in the race, however, his victory positions him with a slight edge as front-runner for his party’s nomination. Barack’s margin of victory, nearly seven points over Edwards and Clinton, should serve him well as he moves forward and tries to cut into and hopefully overcome Clinton’s approximately six point lead in the Granite State.

Sen. Fred Thompson – Thursday afternoon was full of rumors of Thompson’s impending withdrawal from the race that was supposedly to be followed by an endorsement of Sen. John McCain. With a third place finish, Thompson can put these plans on hold and he should remain viable at least through South Carolina.

Losers:

Sen. John Edwards – Iowa will serve as the effective death blow to Edwards’s chances in 2008. Edwards plan this whole cycle was to win in Iowa and use the momentum from this to win later contests. Edwards has enough money to stay in the contest but his chances of becoming the Democrat’s nominee are over.

Gov. Mitt Romney – Romney did not have to win Iowa but he did have to split in Iowa and New Hampshire. Last night’s defeat forces Romney to now win New Hampshire or run the risk of becoming irrelevant. With John McCain’s growing momentum in New Hampshire this will be no easy task.

Sen. Hillary Clinton – Hillary did not have to win Iowa, however, it was her hope to place second. A third place finish may take momentum away from Clinton and make the defense of her dwindling lead in New Hampshire even more difficult.