You can see the graphic results here.
Obama beat Hillary and Edwards at 37.54% with Hillary and Edwards coming in at 29.43% and 29.71% respectively.
Democrats
Obama at 27.54%
Edwards at 29.71%
Clinton 29.43%
Republicans
Mike Huckabee 34.29%
Mitt Romney 25.32%
Fred Thompson 13.37%
Chuck Norris 13.24%
Bill Richardson pulled a 2.12% while Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich both came in with 0%. Ron Paul, the YouTube sweetheart, rallied up 9.99% While Giuliani scrapped up a whopping 3.46%.
Get the full details here.
Nice to see that the United States goes for popularity over quality. Reminds me of high school all over again.
And for those of you who don't live in Iowa, who are on the West Coast, who have no friggin idea what a Caucus is or why the hell it's important or why it matters... try Wikipedia. It's rather enlightening.
"The Iowa caucus is an electoral event in which residents of the U.S. state of Iowa elect delegates to the county convention to which their precinct belongs in a caucus. There are 99 counties in Iowa and thus 99 conventions.
These county conventions then select delegates for both Iowa's Congressional District Convention and the State Convention, which eventually choose the delegates for the presidential nominating conventions (the national conventions).
The Iowa caucus is noteworthy for the amount of media attention it receives during U.S. presidential election years: Since 1972, the Iowa caucus has been the first major electoral event of the nominating process for President of the United States. Although only about one percent of the nation's delegates are chosen by the Iowa state convention, the initial caucus has served as an early indication of which candidates for President might win the nomination of their political party at that party's national convention. ..
The Iowa caucus is commonly recognized as the first step in the U.S. presidential nomination process for both the Democratic and the Republican Parties. It came to national attention in 1972, with a series of articles in the New York Times on how non-primary states would choose their delegates for the national conventions. "
Problems with the Iowa Caucus
There is a debate over the effectiveness and usefulness of caucuses in Iowa.
One criticism is that the caucuses, especially the Democratic caucus, are a step backwards from the right to a secret ballot. Democratic caucus participants (though not Republicans, whose caucuses vote by secret ballot) must publicly state their opinion and vote, leading to natural problems such as peer pressure from fellow neighbors and embarrassment over who his/her real pick might be.
Another criticism involves the sheer amount of participants' time these events consume. The Iowa caucus lasts two hours, preventing people who must work, who are sick, or must take care of their children from casting their vote. What this means is that, if you don't show to scratch your name, you don't vote. Adios amigo.
Absentee voting is also barred, so soldiers who come from Iowa, but must serve in the military lose their vote.
The final criticism is the complexity of the rules in terms of how one's vote counts, as it is not a simple popular vote. Each precinct's vote may be weighed differently due to its past voting record. Ties can be solved by picking a name out of a hat or a simple coin toss, leading to anger over the true democratic nature of these caucuses. Additionally, the representation of the caucus has been questioned due to traditionally low turnout. Others question the permanent feature of having caucuses in certain states, while perpetually ignoring the rest of the country.
There you have it. One nation, under God... and a Presidential candidate via a coin toss. Thank you democracy... no wait, we're not a democracy are we, we're a republic. Damnit. I keep forgetting that.
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