I-man:

Did I add that Romney finished his MBA at HBS and JD at HLS at the age of 22? Obama finished at HLS at the age of 30! There are people on this thread who would have finished their PHD long before the age of 30,never mind JD.

Some people need to go back to arithmetic, 1975-1947 is not equal to 1977-1955, the former is 28 while the later is 22.

For the records:
* Romney graduated from HLS at age 28
* Obama graduated from HLS at age 30

I-man:

In comparing academic credentials,someone who has both an MBA and a JD from Harvard at the age of 22 is better than one who achieved only a JD at the age of 30 because he "chose" not to obtain an MBA.To the extent that we are comparing academic credentials,Romney's "choice" makes his more impressive.

Of course,academic credentials don't really matter that much in the Presidential race though,just [b]correcting RichyBlack [/b]who impulsively googles info without carefully scrutinising it.

I can't stand Huckabee!I'm sure many Democrats are secretely wishing that he will win.He has nothing to offer in terms of foreign policy or economics .His popularity lies in being culturally conservative but the US President has no effect on the culture of the nation.

The best he can do is appoint conservative judges but Rudy,Thompson and Romney will do that anyway.

Laugh go kill me here

Learn to do simple subtraction before correcting RichyBlack.

When great things are about to happen they defy any mathematical, statistical or logical prediction anyone can come up with.

Before the election we were told how 1400 students attended an Obama rally but only 9 signed for caucus as a pointer that his army of youths may not be willing to vote.

When they got to Iowa traditional republicans were wearing Obama shirt.

Now they say his vote were from under 30s

Something new will happen in New Hampshire and they will come up with a statistics.

This is how the statistics may continue to come up until Obama may be sworn in President

If I was an American I will vote for him.

I think Huckabee has won because of the conservative slant of Iowa. 60% of republican voters were evangelicals . . . he wont survive liberal states.

RichyBlacK:

See this guy, you're arguing about MBA? Abeg leave story!

You made a comment on academic credentials and I showed you a valid but imperfect comparison. Imperfect because they graduated 16 years apart from HLS.

Romney getting an extra degree is not necessarily evidence of superior academic credentials. Why are you avoiding the magna c um laude Obama got.

Also, Obama was elected president of the Harvard Law Review! Ol boy, forget talk, no be beans!

You are clutching at straws.An MBA at HBS is a fantastic achievement and combining it with a JD at the age of 28 is more impressive than Obama's. Anybody will be proud to have a HBS MBA and to be dismissive of it is ridiculous."Extra degree" indeed!as if say na mickey mouse degree.

To the extent that Romney got his JD in 75 while Obama got his in 91,that is only relevant when you appreciate grade inflation since then.You defeat your own argument by comparing a 1991 JD to a 1975 JD.If you appreciate the extent of grade inflation in Western universities over the past few decades,you would not raise those comparisons in the first place

McKren:

Something new will happen in New Hampshire and they will come up with a statistics.

This is how the statistics may continue come up until Obama may be sworn in President

If I was an American I will vote for him.

my brother. Obama is on his way to winning this nomination and in november. Clinton will still be counting statistics by then.

davidylan:

I think Huckabee has won because of the conservative slant of Iowa. 60% of republican voters were evangelicals . . . he wont survive liberal states.

I agree, he won't survive the liberal states. However, Romney will get stiff competition from McCain in New Hampshire.

I-man:

You are clutching at straws.An MBA at HBS is a fantastic achievement and combining it with a JD at the age of 28 is more impressive than Obama's. Anybody will be proud to have a HBS MBA and to be dismissive of it is ridiculous."Extra degree" indeed!as if say na mickey mouse degree.

To the extent that Romney got his JD in 75 while Obama got his in 91,that is only relevant when you appreciate grade inflation since then.You defeat your own argument by comparing a 1991 JD to a 1975 JD.If you appreciate the extent of grade inflation in Western universities over the past few decades,you would not raise those comparisons in the first place

There is no evidence of grade inflation in HLS of all places! Chai, all these anti-Obama people sef.

Was it grade inflation that made his peers vote him in as president of the Harvard Law Review?

davidylan:

my brother. Obama is on his way to winning this nomination and in november. Clinton will still be counting statistics by then.

My brother, it is no fluke that a black guy won a Presidential election nomination in a midwestern rural conservative town called Iowa.

I first saw Obama's 2004 democratic convention speech in 2005. I thought he was special.

Being a great leader is not just what you can do but what u can cause others to do. Obama has an effect on people.

@RichyBlack

Why you no go obtain that "extra degree" yourself? Thanks for pointing out my error but the point still stands.

Huckabee is an embarrassment to Republicans. Even Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Guliani.I'm sure his campaign is going nowhere.He has neither the financial resources or the endorsement of the GOP establishment to go anywhere.

Please,never underestimate the Clinton electoral machine.This is not the 1st time the Clintons lost Iowa,we all know what happened the last time.

McKren:

When great things are about to happen they defy any mathematical, statistical or logical prediction anyone can come up with.

Before the election we were told how 1400 students attended an Obama rally but only 9 signed for caucus as a pointer that his army of youths may not be willing to vote.

When they got to Iowa traditional republicans were wearing Obama shirt.

Now they say his vote were from under 30s

Something new will happen in New Hampshire and they will come up with a statistics.

This is how the statistics may continue to come up until Obama may be sworn in President

If I was an American I will vote for him.

The statistics is biding good tidings to Obama as well. Let's watch New Hampshire. My bet is that even if Clinton takes that Northeastern state the margin will be less than 5%. Obama's message of unity and change may assure another victory in NH.

The race is just begining, there are far more caucuses to contest and the winner has not by a long shot been decided.
I congratulate Obama for this win, but the real winner is the Democratic party.
It is good that Obama was able to bring out the vote of young Americans, who by history and statisrics are less likely to vote. This portends a great dividend for the Democratic party in the general elections, provided their attention and zeal can be kept.

The greatest and biggest group of voters are among the elderly and mostly women. This group tend to suport Hillary Clinton, who I believe in the long run will win the nomination. Obama will eventually be nominated secretary of State (a post reserved for blacks).

Iowa is a very small State which in the long run, is almost inconsequential. The numer of total delegates in this State is about 40 or 45. This compared to a State like California or New York which have at least 170 delegates each. So, Obama can win a number of Iowas and still be a long way off the mark to win the nomination. This is part of the dynamics of the Democratic process.

Please do not get me wrong, I am not selling Obama short, but American voters are a peculia bunch.  in the long run, a black man is not electable in America. They just have not reached that milestane yet. The old racists still outnumber the young progressives.

I-man:

@RichyBlack

Why you no go obtain that "extra degree" yourself? Thanks for pointing out my error but the point still stands.

Huckabee is an embarrassment to Republicans. Even Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Guliani.I'm sure his campaign is going nowhere.He has neither the financial resources or the endorsement of the GOP establishment to go anywhere.

Please,never underestimate the Clinton electoral machine.This is not the 1st time the Clintons lost Iowa,we all know what happened the last time.

True, the Clinton political machinery is formidable, nevertheless, her experience-centric message will expire before the change-centric message of Obama. I saw WHITE AMERICA in Des Moines, Iowa chanting "Obama" as if he's their son! The guy is charismatic and has a way of putting the shame inside even the most racist bigot you can conjure up in the American Midwest. People truly love this guy.

But, some whites and Latinos may see him ONLY through the prism of race - the tragedy of America. I remain optimistic for Obama!

Obama's message of hope - which is different from blind optimism, is surely going to be a decider in these elections. If he can repeat the feat in NH, then the other doubting thomases would start to resonate with this change we can believe in. I do not see Hillary Clinton wining this nomination at all. I see Obama, or at worst Edwards winning the democratic nomination. When the chips are down, then we'll know Obama means serious business.

First time caucus goers and the young people would surely decide who wins. If Obama could perform so well in Iowa which is predominantly white, i see no reason why he cant go all the way. Just hopes he keeps up he fine run.

Best of luck to Obama. Please do not forget your brothers in Africa especially when you become president of the USA.

Congrats to Obama. He really did suprise me with his victory in Iowa. However, the race for nomination (Democratic) is just beginning. His message of hope and change reminds me of the compassionate conservatism of GW Bush in 2000. For Obama to be the democratic nominee, he would need to go beyond the rhetorics of hope and change and show that he has got enough experience to be able to implement his policies. I personally do not think the US and indeed the world can afford to have another inexperienced person in the white house.

BARACK OBAMA WINS IN IOWA: He is now the front-runner to head Democratic ticket for president.

Could Barack Obama actually become the first black president? If what happened Thursday night in Iowa is any indication, he could very well be on his way to fulfilling that goal. The Illinois senator captured the first Democratic prize on the road to the White House with a comeback win over former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who edged out one-time front-runner Clinton for second. "We are choosing hope over fear, we are choosing unity over division and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America," Obama, 46, told thousands of cheering, chanting and foot-stamping supporters. The third-place finish was a huge blow for Clinton, 60, the former first lady who a few months ago was considered in some quarters the almost certain Democratic nominee. She now faces immense pressure to turn around her campaign in New Hampshire over the next five days."Today we are sending a clear message that we are going to have change, and that change will be a Democratic president in the White House," Clinton, with husband and former President Bill Clinton at her shoulder, said in Des Moines.

[img]http://www.eurweb.com/images/barack_obama(2008-with-family-after-iowa-causus-med-wide).jpg[/img]
Senator Barack Obama and wife Michelle and their daughters after his victory in Iowa

Obama's win effectively makes him the candidate to beat among Democrats, and a win next week in New Hampshire could put him in prime position to capture the nomination. After Nevada on January 19, the next big contest would be in South Carolina, where more than half of the voters in the Democratic primary are likely to be black.Obama finished with 38 percent of the vote, easily beating Edwards at 30 percent and Clinton at 29 percent. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson finished fourth at 2 percent. Huckabee finished with 34 percent of the vote, ahead of Romney's 26 percent. Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson were tied at 13 percent, with Texas Rep. Ron Paul at 10 percent.Entrance polls showed Obama won big among young voters and even beat Clinton among women voters as his message of change resonated with voters.Meanwhile on the Republican side , Mike Huckabee capped a stunning political rise to beat rival Mitt Romney in Iowa, despite being dramatically outspent by the wealthy former Massachusetts governor and venture capitalist.Both Obama and Huckabee, 52, a former Arkansas governor and ordained Baptist minister, once trailed better-known rivals Clinton and Romney in their race to be on the November election ballot.But they rode a wave of grass-roots enthusiasm to victories by touting an outsider's message of change in Washington."Tonight what we have seen is a new day in American politics," Huckabee, with actor and supporter Chuck Norris nearby, told cheering backers in Des Moines. "Tonight we proved that American politics is still in the hands of people like you."The 2008 campaign is the most open presidential race in more than 50 years, with no sitting president or vice president seeking their party's nomination, and the Iowa contest was the most hotly contested in the state's history.Turnout among Democrats topped 220,000, smashing the previous record of 124,000 in 2004 testament to the high enthusiasm among Democrats heading into November's election.For the winner in Iowa, the prize is valuable momentum and at least a temporary claim to the front-runner's slot in the battle to win the party's presidential nomination in the November election.All eyes now turn to New Hampshire, which holds the next contest on Tuesday and where Romney and Clinton will face high-pressure bids to revive their candidacies.

Source: http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur39742.cfm

Even the people of Iowa dont care about Iowa.

gaining Iowa is hardly reason to celebrate. What next? Rhode Island?

Obama's victory gives a gooooooood feeling.

what make a history is usually unbelievable and ground breaking. There are two set of people you have turn out in an election in America. The youth and the elderly in winter months. And for OBAMA to deliver near double the usual figure say something about his message.

The youth are knowning to be lazy and non committal, they like to party but don't have discpline but OBAMA succeeded and Cinton fail or underestimate her opponent. The elderly who are more discplined and committed even didn't come out and women voters even went for OBAMA.

All the statistic I have seen suggest that this is a bigger win than just the 8% margin. IOWA is 91% white, and the youths have been on Christmas and New Year hols and come back and vote for OBAMA, the Republicans liberals and the independents saw a refreshing breath of Air.

Without OBAMA, even Edward will be struggling to sniff HRC, but OBAMA is always original even when his stand is not popular. IRAQ war is one example, meeting with leaders of 'rogue states' without precondition is another one. This guy is a politician not playing the usual conventional wisdom. This is 2007 and not 1945, no more cold war but Star wars.

If he comes a close 2nd in NH , which I am confident he can do, if not win it closely, then the battle will be decided on the super tuesday 5th February 2008.

I think the youngs hold the key to this, if they come out enmass an support OBAMA, RACE (as in black v white) will only be just for the past, the oldies. America is a very racist country when it comes to their politics. One big advantage OBAMA has apart from having a white mother and long lineage of maternal slave owing family link to cousin Dick Cheney is that he is a post black movement guy unlike people before him. And even the Republican white party machine knows that he super clean and one of them has confirmed it already.

The only argument is CHANGE -v- EXPERIENCE, HE CHOSE CHANGE, AND IOWAN AGREE, IF THE COUNTRY AS A WHOLE AGREE AND GO WITH CHANGE.HE WILL BE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE USA

The thing is that experience is an expired argument, all the experience, conventional wisdom and washington usual politics only keep dividing the country along party political lines. If he wins the primary and get heavyweight like Bloomborg as his VP, then he will have taken the challenge to the opposition

TIME WILL TELL.

GO OBAMA, You have the Audacity to Dream. without Hope there is no life.

do you guys really believe americans will put a completely black family in the white house? racism is real, dont you get it?

obama indeed. the guy is good. the people have showed that he is good. now he is noticed by the powers that be, as a potential threat, watch how they'll clip him in new hampshire.

i dont like hilary, i'm all for edwards. . . the guy speaks from his heart. he had little yet he beat hilary. edwards will make a good president. i believe.

@ Toshman,

Edwards is a spent force. He ran 4 years ago he couldn't help his 'boss' to win and all his strategy is based on winning IOWA and use the momentum to propel from there.

Look at OBAMA matching HRC in everything including fundraising $80M/$90M. America don't give you their money unless they have something for you. These are grassroot money in majority of cases.

I think something is brewing, it is either complete anti-HRC or America just want breath of fresh air, and i think is the latter, history may be in the making in our own lifetime. It is along way to go but SUPER TUESDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2008, IT WILL BE ALL CURTAINS.

WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT DEMOCRAT ARE GETTING BACK THE WHITE HOUSE THIS YEAR, AMERICA IS TRUELY SICK OF THE GOP AT LEAST AT THE WHITE HOUSE. INFACT OBAMA FAMILY LOOKS LIKES THE KENNEDY'S, THEY DON'T LOOK LIKE THE TYPICAL BLACK GUY FOR THE WHITE PERSON THEY CAN IDENTIFY WITH HIM

obama is not "completely"black, he is mixed by the way. although i am supporting hillary clinton, obama has a chance at getting the nomination since the republican party is pretty weak and fragmented right now. yes obama would lose some votes in the south, but northerners like guiliani or mitch romney won't sway that much votes in the south anyway.

Obama might surprise alot of us. For those saying not now for their own reasons; I ask when? For those saying he has no experience, I'll say who amongst them has a presidential experience? Is not like Obama is contesting with a current president seeking re-election or something. And for those saying Clinton has this and that experience, all I can say is NA LIE. If Hillary had those experiences where was she when Bill was having those long affairs with different peoples; Dat tells me she was occupied with the kids, her parents, a couple of advices dat a regular legislative Obama was involved in, and her personal looks.
 This is just the beginning, and if it continues, shame will be upon those slave mentality people in here and everywhere. Even when whites can once in a while see Sen. Obama(soon to be President Obama) in his words and not his skin and appreciate him for that then all these slaves confraderates dat physically look like the senator and have majority of experiences as the senator are here writing him off.
Imagine a President Barrack Obama in the white house, a son of an African(kenyan), in the white house with massive power and influence. To me dat will not only be the president of America but also Africa. He will seek for better treatment of people in Africa, he will also help America because he would have the trust of Africans who will whole heartedly shut China down and attain a new heights with America. Black kids in America will be growing up reading and reaching new standards cuz they know it is possible to(not neccessarily presidential) reach better objectives in life than the current ones.
God will continue to shield him from haters in the black race and outside the black race. They will all vote Obama and continue to vote Obama until and after he's in the white house. The hardcore hataz will be plagued with massive confusion and distability amongst themselves whether black or not. Obama is history in the making and we all regardless of race should be happy to live during a positive history period.
 Nigerians hating on him should gently sit, watch, and learn from a believer in attaining goals and breaking boundries.Not like Naija where one king will rule even after he's dead. Too much slave mentality.

Imagine a President Barrack Obama in the white house, a son of an African(kenyan), in the white house with massive power and influence. To me that will not only be the president of America but also Africa. He will seek for better treatment of people in Africa

@naijaway
Oh puleeeeeeease. Spare us the naive comments.

davidif, na u know O. U gat ur mind and I gat mine. The truth is bitter. If George Bush, and Clinton can dictate to u without having a pint of the experience u have then what will Obama who just went to visit Kenya a year or so ago and whose father is from there capable of. One thing for sure, after seeing those horrible war videos in many parts of Africa, he will seek for a solution and give sincere assistance unlike anyother before him or competing with him.
Africa is part of his consciousness whether you like him or not. And yes, he's not going to be ruiling Africa like he will be doing yankee but he will definately extend a real hand of support.

As much as I don't support some of the policies of the democratic party vis a vis, their support of abortion, I would vote for them over a republican, because of their interest in working for the masses. The republicans potray themselves as a Bible thumping organization when in reality, they cater to the interest of the rich. Come, who benefits from tax cuts in the society? The rich of course. Why is it that, (in the past decades or so) when a republican assumes office, the economy is in doldrums, but with a democrat, the economy would be in an upswing?

As for Hilary Clinton, I am certain that she was taken aback by her loss in Iowa. Over confidence may have been a factor in her loss, because, I read in the papers that prior to this development, she had made known to her supporters/fundraisers, she was not interested in any divided loyalties. Expecting a massive turnout of support from Hollywood celebrities, she was shocked that some of them flocked to Obama that she changed gear. Now, her Iowa loss has dealt her a humbling experience. I wont vote for her, but my preference is either for Obama or Huckabee. Lets see how it goes.


@as for the poster who wrote that an Ibo would be president of Nigeria before a black man resides at 1600 Pensylvannia, you gotta remember that Azikiwe was Nigeria's first president. Alex Ekwueme was the vp for shagari, Ojukwu was pardoned by Shagari, so if you are attempt is to highlight the exclusion of Ibos in Nigerian politics, then that is completely wrong!

Ndipe:

As much as I don't support some of the policies of the democratic party vis a vis, their support of abortion, I would vote for them over a republican, because of their interest in working for the masses.

Rhetorically,Democrats claim to work for the masses,but some of their policies undermine such claims.Minimum wages lead to higher unemployment,higher taxes lead to tax avoidance,welfarist policies encourage single parenthood and benefit scrounging,e.t.c

The republicans potray themselves as a Bible thumping organization when in reality, they cater to the interest of the rich. Come, who benefits from tax cuts in the society? The rich of course.

The economy benefits from tax cuts.The top rate of income tax used to be 83% in the UK,now its 40%,the result has been an increase in the proportion of the tax burden borne by the rich-http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-4.pdf Same phenomenon applies to the US-  http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/pub/irs-soi/04asastr.pdf
Tax avoidance goes up when the top rates of income tax are too high.High tax rates have never done any good to any economy.Besides,the rich are not some sui generis segment of society isolated from the economy.It is the enterprise and innovativeness of the wealthy drives the economy.

Why is it that, (in the past decades or so) when a republican assumes office, the economy is in doldrums, but with a democrat, the economy would be in an upswing?

That is incorrect.During the 80s under Reagan,the US economy experienced an economic boom.Under Carter,there was stagflation,things were so bad at one point that there was fuel scarcity in some parts of the states!Given that the Republicans have dominated the White House post-WWII,the American economy won't be the largest if what you just claimed was even half-true.

The link between the president in office and the state of the economy is even tenous but that is another matter.

Thanks for the correction, but it was a typo, I meant decade, not decades, that is comparing the administration of Clinton with Bush snr and even Bush Jnr.

@Ndipe

If what you want is the economic bubble of the 90s,then support Clinton.The Democrats per se,don't have a reputation for economic competence.Clinton's era was an exception but even then,it was a post-Cold war bubble economy and we are seeing the results today.

It is odd to praise Clinton's management of the economy and still support Obama against Clinton.Obama comes from a different school of thought to Clinton,I daresay, the branch of the Democratic party that once brought Americans fuel scarcity and rampant inflation.

What America needs is "divided Govt".One party controls Congress,another controls the White House.Clinton's popularity was in the mid 30s when the Democrats ran Congress in his first 2 years.It was only until the GOP took over in 94 after the landslide elections did things take a turn for the better.Having one party control both branches of Govt has always proved a failure.