I’m writing this 3 1/2 hours after the polls have closed in Florida. This only matters to the Republicans as the Democratic primary doesn’t count (Florida, like Michigan, pushed their primary up so soon that the Democratic Party is refusing to seat their delegates. Hillary won the most votes in the primary but it really doesn’t matter in the all-important delegate chase. In the Republican primary John McCain edged out Mitt Romney and won all 57 delegates in the winner take all contest. I’ve updated the delegate count on the left side the page. It’s assumed that Rudy Giuliani will drop out of the race but he hasn’t conceded on his web page and I’ll wait for that.

I don’t normally watch the CBS Evening News but we had it on tonight and Katie Couric did an interesting story. She asked this question of each of the candidates: “If you were elected president, what is the one book other than the Bible you would think is essential to have along?” Here is how they answered (I have included only the book title and author, and not their explanations; also, I put them in the same order as Katie):

• John McCain: Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith.
• Barack Obama: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Mitt Romney: John Adams by David McCollough
• Mike Huckabee: Whatever Happened to the Human Race by Francis Schaefer
• John Edwards: The Trial of Socrates by I.F. Stone
• Hillary Clinton: The Federalist Papers
• Rudy Giuliani: The Federalist Papers

Of the 6 books listed, I’ve only fully read two: Team of Rivals and John Adams but The Federalist Papers is on my list.

I’m watching the results of the Democratic primary in South Carolina and it appears it was a good day for Barack Obama and his campaign. The big loser today is Hillary Clinton who barely beat John Edwards. It appears that part of the reason for the big Obama win was a backlash against Hillary and especially her husband Bill for going negative. I hope that’s true because it may lead to a decrease in negative campaigning.

I continue to get frustrated looking at the delegate counts, but have (perhaps) found a place that agrees with my math and doesn’t include projections. If you look at the MSNBC page it has the same numbers as me.

The news outlets are writing lots of material about Tuesday’s primary and how the various candidates are doing. It made me think about the calendar of primaries. I found it on NPR.

As you can see this is an exhaustive list. Unfortunately for most of the country the choice will be made before they get a chance to vote. I’m guessing that after all the primaries on February 5th (known as Super Tuesday) we’ll know who the nominees will be.

The winnowing has begun; today Bill Richardson withdrew from the race, though he didn’t endorse anyone. Look for more in the next few weeks.

As I’m reading the news about yesterday’s Iowa caucus, the process of winnowing the race has begun. Joe Biden has withdrawn from the race for the Democratic nomination. His web page has this note from his NH Chair, Jim Ryan:

Tonight, we witnessed a great man, a great American, and a great friend of mine fight a proud fight out in Iowa. He didn’t spend millions of dollars, he didn’t throw the mud, and when the dust settles tomorrow, nobody will question Senator Biden’s conviction, nobody will question his passion, nobody will question his experience, and nobody will question his integrity.

The problems that we faced at the beginning of the day are the same now. We need to get our troops out of Iraq responsibly, we need to change our policy towards Pakistan and ensure that nuclear weapons will not fall into the hands of terrorists, we need to make sure that our children have health care, that we fix No Child Left Behind so that we can actually educate our children and give teachers the support that they need, and that we restore America’s moral authority.

Senator Biden has stood entire life for those who didn’t have a voice, in his authoring of the Violence Against Women Act and his call for support for the countless victims of genocide in Bosnia under Milosevic.

I am proud to have had the opportunity to have come to know Senator Biden, to have worked with and to help shape the debate in this race.

Christopher Dodd also left the race, saying this:

I count the past year as one of the most rewarding in a career of public service. Unfortunately I am withdrawing from the campaign tonight. Thank you for all your efforts throughout the course of this entire Presidential campaign. I will be in touch.

Looking at the South Carolina primary web page I found a few minor Republican candidates and have added them.

As for Iowa, I have to say that I’m pleased to see Barack Obama win as he is the candidate I intend to vote for. Hillary Clinton finished third, behind John Edwards; I don’t think Edwards has a realistic chance of winning the nomination and this news has more to do with Hillary. I like Hillary now as I did when she was First Lady, but I worry that she is such a polarizing candidate that she will become a target in the general election. I’m also aware that this may continue the “Bush/Clinton/Bush” dynasties. On January 20, 2009 I hope to wave goodbye to the Bush family forever from the White House, and I wonder if a Hillary presidency will cause the Bush family to try to find another family member to win the Presidency back.

I’m also concerned with the idea that Mike Huckabee won. Truth be told there is no Republican candidate I would consider voting for but Huckabee worries me. He believes that creationism should be taught instead of science and I don’t think this will be good for the country. I’ll probably write more later.

I’m writing this at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time (9:30 p.m. in Iowa) and it appears that the winners are Barack Obama for the Democrats and Mike Huckabee for the Republicans. I’m writing this not to comment on the winners and losers, but to defend the Iowa process.

Iowa begins the process of electing the new president, and now we move to New Hampshire. Lots of people (including my wife and sister-in-law who are commenting as I write this) believe this isn’t good because a small group of people have an undue influence on the process. That’s true in the sense that the winners in Iowa have a leg up on fundraising and media attention. Many of my fellow Californians believe that since we have the largest state population (with over 36,000,000 people) we should have a more significant say (or at least a say) in selecting our next president; as it stands now the selection may be done by the time we get to vote.

On the other hand…there is something to be said for our current system. California is such a large state that the largest fundraisers are locks for the winners. In Iowa anyone with a minimal amount of interest can meet any of the major candidates, and they can decide for themselves. There comes a saturation point where all the extra money in the world can’t change a person’s vote, and states with small populations hit that point sooner. As for me, I think the good people of Iowa study the candidates and platforms, and make reasoned choices that benefit all of us. Perhaps the voting population is not as diverse as the rest of the country but I’m willing to trade some of the diversity for the care that they give.

As I write this Barack Obama is winning for the Democratic ticket, and he is African American. African Americans comprise 2.3% of the state population; it’s clear that at least some of the 97.7% of the rest of Iowa are supporting him. Perhaps the good people of Iowa are thinking of the rest of us.

Also, Mike Huckabee beat Mitt Romney even though Romney outspent Huckabee 20 to 1.

Oh, and by the way, the phrase “on the other hand” was made famous by President Harry S Truman. He demanded to have a one armed lawyer because he was tired of hearing the phrase “on the other hand.”