Now I Know How 48 States Feel

There were no primal screams in Iowa last night, at least none in public, but Senators Biden and Dodd are out of the rece, and talking heads are suggesting that Governor Richardson won't be far behind.

The overall results were more or less as predicted by the pollsters. I understand that while Biden was able to portray himself as a very experienced, competent, even wise, foreign policy expert, there is something about his style that didn't come across as presidential. And that lead to the undoing of his campaign.

That said, I find it hard to accept Biden's 0.93% showing in Iowa, especially since he was polling in the 5% range. That brings me to my main point. Should Iowa Democrats be the ones who winnow down the field of Democratic presidential candidates before any other state gets to weigh in with its views?

Unlike N.H., where the preferences of voters for all the candidates are reported directly, and there is no 15% threshold to overcome, the Iowa Democratic caucus is designed to weed out the weak sisters of the campaign before the real voting starts. I think N.H. Democratic voters should be given the same chance to vote for all the Democratic candidates as N.H. Republicans have to vote for their candidates. Iowa Democrats should either change their caucus rules to match those of their Republican brethern, or should go to the end of the presidential campaign voting line.