Iowa Caucus: The 2016 Presidential Cycle Begins!

How to Think About Iowa

In 9 months, the polls will open to elect a President who’ll hopefully take the country in a new direction. The damage done to the American people over the last decade—lower incomes, diminished economic prospects, and a far more dangerous world, make this year’s voting the most important in decades.

As I wrote previously in my #blog post, “Primary Election” November 1, 2015, the first few primaries promise to be both surprising and populist; but picking a winner in Iowa feels like trying to peg the price of oil. Who knows what the future holds?

In the final debate before Feb. 1^st held by #FoxNews, the man who will not be named was absent; even though he’s emerged as the single most influential force in this upcoming primary season. Could a wave of first-time Republican voters propel him to victory in Iowa?

Was it a good or bad idea to miss this debate? Was a narcissistic political move more about the Donald than political strategy? After almost a year since CPAC last March, it all kicks off on Monday night, but I still don’t know which candidate to support in Iowa? 

Aspects of each candidate appeal to me; and at the same time Hillary Rodham Clinton doesn’t seem as inevitable as she did 4-6 months ago. This is a strange election...

Is this Caucus really about Establishment versus Outsider, young versus old, intervention versus isolation, conservative versus campaigner-conservative, political correctness versus practical politics, capitalist versus socialist, Bush versus Clinton, Christian versus Libertarian, digital versus analog? 

Striations of Republicanism vary like layered geologic formations hydraulically fractured. History will record this election field as one of the most diverse in the past 25 years. What follows is a phrase describing my thoughts on the eve of the Iowa Caucuses (minus Donald):

Candidate	Makes me think…
¡Jeb!	Great resume, but Bush vs. Clinton?
Ted Cruz	Campaigning hard, pervasive negatives
John Kasich	Fiscal genius, probably my favorite
Carly Fiorina	The woman to watch, powerful message
Dr. Ben Carson	The meek shall inherit the earth
Mike Huckabee	At least he's having fun!
Marco Rubio	Aspirational, serious contender
Chris Christie	A bigger version of John McCain
Rand Paul	Great debater, but not the right fit for the GOP
Rick Santorum	Do well in Iowa, get off the "undercard"
Jim Gilmore	I need more information, who is that?
Bernie Sanders	Not sure he can get elected
Hillary Clinton	Lack of focus, energy, momentum
Martin O'Malley	Looks more like a Mayor than President