I'm not one to post diaries here, but there's a point that needs to be made about the Iowa results and the subsequent spinning thereof that, amazingly, is nowhere to be found here on DailyKos. John Edwards took second in Iowa, by all of 0.28%. Zero point two eight percent: http://www.iowacaucusresults.com/
This only bears repeating because the Edwards campaign, as well as its many supporters here, have been hyping the former Senator's second place finish to no end. On caucus night itself, Elizabeth Edwards thanked the voters for her husband's second place finish, even though the results were incomplete at the time and it was not at all clear what the final outcome would be. After John's passionate speech, Elizabeth whispered in his ear, and the candidate himself repeated the "second place winner" line which, again, wasn't yet conclusive. It's a good thing for them that the final couple of hundred delegates preserved Edwards' seven delegate lead over Clinton (out of 1781).
I don't begrudge Edwards his second place finish and, though not a supporter of his, I respect that he placed competitively in Iowa against such well-financed opponents and in the face of less media attention to his campaign, but couldn't it be said that the detail of his finishing second, which could have been swung by a couple of hundred votes, isn't as significant as people here make it out to be?
Couldn't it also be said with complete certainty that, had a few hundred votes swung differently and the second and third place results reversed, many people here would be calling it a tie for second and reviling Clinton supporters and the traditional media for painting her razor thin margin as a decisive second place finish?
Furthermore, isn't it also true that, given Obama's decisive victory, Hillary Clinton's third place finish actually helps her by keeping Edwards in the game and splitting the anti-Hillary vote, giving her a chance to pull ahead again? If, again, a few hundred Iowa voters had swung Hillary's way, and Edwards had placed third in the state on which so much of his campaign strategy was based, leading him to drop out and lend his support to the caucus winner, Barack Obama would have emerged as the party's clear nominee. I'm not advocating that Edwards surrender. He has serious things to say, boundless energy, and an incredible base of support. It's even possible that, should Hillary completely self-destruct, Edwards could somehow take it all. I'm just presenting a hypothetical scenario that may not have been too far away from happening.
Instead, the race goes on, and Hillary remains bruised but very much alive. Given that I think she'd make an excellent president, I can't say this bothers me.