It feels negligent not to be blogging away about Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island, and Vermont today, but really -- what can one say? When I got on a plane to Des Moines on Dec. 28, I thought I'd be witnessing something decisive over the next eight days. And indeed, It feels negligent not to be blogging away about Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island, and Vermont today, but really -- what can one say? When I got on a plane to Des Moines on Dec. 28, I thought I'd be witnessing something decisive over the next eight days. And indeed, Barack Obama's Iowa victory, from this vantage point, was one of the biggest turning points in this race: It proved he could win big among white voters, proved he could mobilize first-time voters and Independents, and proved his organizing chops were more than just a talking point.
But today, on March 4, despite numerous shifts in the contours of this race, it almost seems as if Iowa and the subsequent 40 states and territories to have gone to the polls hardly matter: We're still looking at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, arguing about the role gender and race will play in this election, and wondering if Clinton will risk everything, even the unity of the Democratic Party, in a delegate race all the way to the Convention. So here, as an Election Day distraction, is a list of the top 10 most influential moments or issues in the Democratic campaign so far, from my perspective, and in no particular order. Do you agree? What did I miss? What's overplayed?
1. Obama's Iowa victory -- see above.
2. Hillary's New Hampshire "comeback" -- showed her strength among women, and their disgust with the media's treatment of her.
3. Obama's deficit among Latino voters, and his too-late focus on fixing the problem: It cost him Nevada, California, and maybe today, the popular vote in Texas.
4. John Edwards' exit from the race, leaving no doubt that this year's Democratic nominee, just by being in the competition, will make history.
5. And while we're talking about Edwards, we can't underestimate his policy influence. He's the reason we ever began arguing about health insurance mandates; Edwards simply insisted that universality be the Democratic standard.
6. Obama's sweep of caucus states. This guy can organize, and he's applying Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy to presidential politics.
7. Hillary surrogates play the race/drugs card in South Carolina and around the country, strengthening Clinton fatigue on the Left.
8. The ongoing fight -- with possible huge battles yet to come -- over whether to seat Convention delegates from Michigan and Florida, which broke DNC rules by moving their primaries forward, and thus disenfranchised their own citizens. Clinton agreed to the rules, but now she doesn't want to play by them.
9. The economy and jobs overtake the Iraq war as voters' number one concern. It's too late to help Edwards, but Clinton attempts to seize the mantle in Ohio.
10. Obama's success with voters under 30. But can he use his popularity among young people not just to win elections, but to imbue an entire generation with progressive principles?
--Dana Goldstein
