The Daily 2008

On this day in 1965 President Johnson talks about a "Great Society" in his State of the Union address. To the day's top stories:

"Moving On to New Ground and Issues" (Marc Santora, New York Times) Like 2007, Iowa is over. It's consequences are still playing out, but with New Hampshire just days away, we don't have a lot of time to weigh them all. The real race has started and it won't slow down for anyone.

"Behind the Iowa Results" (Wall Street Journal) The Journal's political team takes a look at the candidates and their finishes one-by-one.

"Obama Victory Leaves Clinton Scrambling" (Mike Allen and Ben Smith, The Politico) For Barack Obama, it's about to get a lot more difficult. For Clinton, she can't afford to go into South Carolina 0-2, and so will do whatever she can to win in New Hampshire.

"Huckabee Has Tough Row to Hoe" (Melanie Asmar, Concord Monitor) All glory is fleeting, and none more so than political glory. Mike Huckabee has about four days to turn his Iowa stunner into a respectable New Hampshire showing. Although more focused on South Carolina, Huckabee will want to continue to whatever free media coverage he's getting, which would turn awfully negative after a blowout in New Hampshire.

"Historic Turnout: 346,000 Iowans Caucus" (Abby Simons, Des Moines Register) The Register deserves bragging rights -- it predicted a large turnout and that's what we got, over the guffaws of several politicos who thought they knew better.

"McCain Benefits From Romney Loss" (Chris Frates, The Politico) Although coming in at a respectable third, John McCain might prove to be last night's biggest winner. In Iowa, McCain let Huckabee do his dirty work and it's paid off; now, on to New Hampshire, where McCain will try to end Romney's bid.

"Edwards Ekes Out Second-Place Finish" (Kathy Kiely, USA Today) For a candidate who began campaigning in Iowa the day John Kerry conceded, second-place must feel like the first loser. But Edwards beat -- barely -- Clinton and that's enough to keep going until South Carolina. If this were the playoffs, Edwards just made the wildcard.

"Biden, Dodd to Abandon Presidential Bids" (Associated Press) Sticking with the football analogy, Biden and Dodd were in a must-win game and lost, badly. Both had staked their campaigns on Iowa and both knew that Jan. 4 would be the end of the road. Now, about Duncan Hunter...

"Political History a Warning for Early-Season Winners" (Peter S. Canellos, Boston Globe) The butcher's bill of early primary winners is full of politicians who basked in the triumph of their Iowa or New Hampshire victories. Clinton and Romney should take heart in this, since, as Romney's supporters were saying last night, even "Reagan lost Iowa."

Get these and today's other election stories at RCP's Politics and Election page.



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