Iowa?

Iowa's quadrennial day in the sun is past, the results are in, and they can go back to producing the corn needed to feed animals and men, and to brew into carshine that nobody really wants to burn in cars, but that Iowa's have lobbied to have made mandatory.

Don't Come Home, Marty

Onto the business of the day. On the Democrat side, the results show Hillary Clinton with a razor thin victory over Sanders, with 700 votes to his 695. Martin O'Malley's delusional dream fetched him 8 votes (less than 1%), and his dropping out has not only clarified the race by leaving the choice between a slightly demented socialist with no accomplishments, and a brain damaged Peronist apparatchik with negative accomplishments possessing female genitalia, but it has raised the average age of the democratic candidates from 65 to 72. It has not affected the color balance one whit, however.

This result suggests to me that the kids and old hippies feeling the Bern aren't likely going to be active enough to stop Hillary's long march to the nomination, which is all but wrapped up by superdelegates to the Democratic convention in any event. I would guess that the only things that could derail Hillary now are a sudden health crisis, or serious charges from the Department of Justice. My guess is that someday very soon either Loretta Lynch or Barack Obama himself will come out with a statement that it would be wrong to let a criminal process interfere with the coronation election of the next Democrat.

On the Republican side, the results are nearly a three way tie, Cruz 28%, Trump 24% and Rubio 23%, Carson a distant 9% and the wannabes trailing in their wakes. This suggests to me that the media supported Trump hype is somewhat overblown, and that many of his supporters may seem earnest, they won't necessarily be the most reliable voters. In other words, Reagan democrats. The victory of Cruz in Iowa is amazing given his outspoken (and principled) opposition to corn ethanol as mandatory auto fuel. The race just became a little less depressing for me.

Time to get the band back together

In the undercard,  Paul > Bush > Fiorina > Kasich > Huckabee > Christie > Santorum. Huckabee has had enough abuse, and dropped out.  How many Presidents from Hope, Arkansas, can we stand? I can't see anyone in this crowd making it, and it's time some more of them dropped out. Santorum is considering his options and  Jeb spent approximately $2900 per vote in Iowa. While I commend him for redistributing the lucre of his wealthy donors to sign makers and TV advertisers, I can't see this as sustainable. You might gamble on South Carolina, but how many more ads can you put on Fox?

So I guess all the party of old white men from flyover states has to offer a Hispano-Canadio-American, a Cuban Floridian, a New Yorker, and a female business executive, among others. Fiorina is in it for VP, and that's fine.