Obama wins the Democratic Caucus in Iowa, with 37 percent of the vote, leaving Edwards and Hillary to battle it out for second. On the Republican side, Huckabee took the gold, followed by Romney, then Thompson, then McCain. All of this has been so fully gamed out that it's hard to add any new insight to the issue. Obama is now the favorite. Clinton's aura of inevitably has been banished, and whatever momentum she had has been crushed. It's tough, though not impossible, to imagine her regaining it. Edwards' path to the nomination is unlikely. Gravel's coronation looks increasingly uncertain. On the Republican side, Huckabee doesn't look like a winner to me, but he may well have dealt a fatal blow to Romney's chances. The path is open for McCain to take New Hampshire, but it's hard to see what comes after it. Howard Dean was just on the teevee saying the Democrats had twice the turnout of the Republicans. In 2004, 125,000 Democrats caucused. Tonight it was more than 200,000. That's meaningful. Much of the spike was among the young. That's even more meaningful. It's the demographic that so often turns away in disgust arising in empowerment. And atop it all, Barack Obama won. A black man just won the Iowa caucus. And he won not because of his race, nor in spite of it; not because of the novelty of his campaign, nor because of its historic import. He won because a broad swath of Americans found him to be the most inspiring, the most elevating, the most attractive of the candidates. He won because so many Iowans felt their heart quicken before his words that they smashed all turnout records in order to add their voice to his. It's a remarkable night. Not just for Obama, or for Democrats, or for political junkies. For the country.
