OT: Biden is out of the race, too. Just wanted to give him his own thread.

[beachmom]

I thought Biden was often the most compelling debater especially when it came to foreign policy. His statement that he gave after Bhutto's death was exactly what I needed, as I was very upset when I had heard the news. His expertise rang out, and I hope that if a Dem wins the presidency, that Biden joins that administration. Basically, we have a certain number of Dems who really are quite impressive, and some of them need to leave the Senate to help out in the executive branch. I think we can all agree that the top 3 contenders are not foreign policy experts, so if they are advised well, then we will be just fine. As to who should leave the Senate, well, I guess we'll have to wait and find out if any of them do.

If Pirhana stops by, just wanted to let you know we are here for you. You were a tireless supporter of Biden with lots of interesting positive posts, and I am sorry Biden's campaign ended way too early.

[Mass]

1. Kudos to Biden. He really did not get the recognition he deserves.

[TayTay]

2. Sen Biden ran a good campaign

and was true to himself. He added to the overall debate and provided some needed insight into foreign policy and what it will take to begin to fix this country's problems with the rest of the world.

I salute all our good Democrats who ran. It's not an easy thing to do and my hat's off to all of them.

[ginnyinWI]

3. the media ignored all but the top three

They had their stars, so they had no use for the rest.

[beachmom]

6. I don't think it was the media that did them in. The caucus showed

on both sides, that people went with their gut on who to vote for, and did not vote for the more establishment candidates or go for the more experienced candidates. Now whether that holds in the future remains to be seen.

[Inuca]

7. Not ONLY the media

but sure as hell they helped! Other than that, I agree, people went with their guts, and the guts seemed to have told Iowans on both sides that they want something radically different from the past. Given that they completely discounted (and discarded) Biden and Dodd, I am at lest very glad they went with Obama. My guts are in synch on this one :-).

[wisteria]

15. Absolutely. This has always been a race between the "rock star" and

the former first lady. No one had a chance other than these two and Edward's because he had been there and done it before.

Nothing else mattered to Iowans except change? The last time people voted like this they elected Bush.

[fedupinBushcountry]

17. Agree, 100% n/t

[rox63]

4. Biden would have made an excellent Prez

I'm sorry he and Dodd are out of the race. Sincere condolences to Pirhana, and all the Biden and Dodd supporters. :hug:

[Inuca]

8. Yes, he most certainly would have

:cry: The unfairness of history... in a different climate his chances would have been MUCH better, I am sure. I hope he is wise enough to take all this with one of his big grins and go on doing what he is very good at.

[Luftmensch067]

5. What you all said

Comparatively, probably one of the two best, if not the best, foreign policy brains in the race and an upright Democrat. I hope his voice will be heard by our next (Democratic!) administration.

[sandnsea]

9. I am still surprised he dropped out

I would have thought NH would be a great place for him to make his case to those who were hoping for something different along with some experience. I hope Pirhana isn't too disappointed.

[Inuca]

10. His poll numbers in NH

were not promising to say the least + I am sure he is strapped for money. With the increased Obama vs. Clinton hoopla, his chances of being heard and making a dent were minimal. Sad he is out, but glad he did it now rather than later. More classy, and I would venture to guess easier on his ego and psyche as well. Ah, by the way, he would have been out of the debate this coming Saturday (I think) as well, given the rules. So no, I do not think it made sense for Biden to go on. I am not sure why Richardson is still drudging on, unless he has some ulterior motive. Much as I do not like it, it crystal clear a this point that it is a 3-way race, probably soon to become 2-way, though my guess is that Edwards will hang by a thread for as long as he can.

[karynnj]

11. Richardson likely did better than the Iowa numbers suggest

The need to have at least 15% at a precinct for that support to be counted in the final results, greatly impacts the results. He knows (at least roughly) what his initial percent was overall. If for example his average was 10% statewide, under a symmetrical distribution well over half the precincts would throw away his support. He may have looked at real Iowa numbers and the NH polls and decided to hang in at least another week or two.

It would be far fetched to find a way this could lead to him - but imagine that the Edwards launch some attack that sticks to Obama, but destroys Edwards at the same time. This would leave only him or HRC, and it looks like one result is people are sick of Clintons. Or, imagine that HRC implodes further, leaving only Obama and Edwards, but some Obama comments are twisted to raise the need of someone with experience. Again, Richardson would be the only one there.

As to Edwards, he hung on far too long in 2004 - with a cloying press claiming he still was viable. This time it will be harder. I think one likely loss that will be devastating is SC. EE spun Iowa as great as he beat HRC, but everyone knew that that did not suffice. He is not expected to do much in NH. SC could emotionally hurt as it is his native state and the state he won in 2004 with 45% of the vote. (NC was after JK was the nominee - it was a favorite son thing.) Another factor is Elizabeth Edwards' health - campaigning at that level of intensity has to be grueling - when you are winning or hoping of wins, the victories make it seem lighter. The real question is whether he will be able to see the writing on the wall or if not, if someone he trusts will tell him.

As one who really doesn't like Edwards, I found I felt really sad for him - even more than I had for Gephardt last time. He faces an end, not just to a dream of being President, but likely of having a lasting political career. Worse, he ends it as he began it, a man seen to have enormous potential, but with no major accomplishments. Many on DU mention him for a cabinet position, but somehow, I don't see it. I certainly do not think he will be considered for VP. Throw in dealing with his wife's illness, I really feel sorry for him. Sorry enough that I have tried to avoid saying anything negative on the bigger threads. This is far worse for his supporters than anything we faced. Kerry had a place in history had he done nothing after 1971 and even if he left the Senate, he would still be a top foreign policy expert.

[sandnsea]

12. Debate rules?

I'm not aware. I guess if Kucinich is to be kept out by support percentages, the same has to be applied across the board, if that's what you mean. It would be very difficult to get any traction if you couldn't even get debate time, that's true. It's just really sad.

[politicasista]

13. He came across very presidential in the debates

and a solid foreign policy expert. :thumbsup:



Hi pirhana and thanks for your tireless support. :hi:

[JI7]

14. his race showed me why JK likes him so much

and makes more sense why JK talked to him just about every day when he was running.

thanks to Pirhana for her hard work and focusing so much on what is most important which are the issues and Biden's lead there.

i don't think he could have won, but i would reallly have liked to see Dodd and or Biden have a nice showing. even in the low teens.

[jillan]

16. Thanks for all your kind words everybody!

As you can imagine, we are devastated.
Things were going crazy for him in Iowa over the last couple of weeks, he was drawing bigger crowds than Hillary. So this was quite a surprise.
I was prepared for him to lose, but not so quickly.

The caucuses are pretty strange - I "talk" to several people that were there. Lots of interesting stories.

Back in the undecided column for me!