Snaggletooth wrote:unipanther99 wrote: Iowans take their responsibility seriously, and by and large, seem better informed than Americans at large (understanding there are several very well informed people posting on this board from outside of the Hawkeye state)
So well informed that they gave John Edwards 30% of the vote in 2008. Plus they do a "Caucus" - which is more of function of how strong a particular group is for a specific candidate.
Iowans are well informed, but don't have ESP. The sex scandal wasn't yet public. Edwards was polling a strong third nationally, so I didn't see his 30% as a big shock. The big news was Obama's early victory. Anyway, I was caucusing across the hall, so I can't really speak to the Edwards issue.
The Democrats caucus differently than the Republicans. With the Republicans, it's basically a state-wide straw poll, with raw vote totals added up across the state. The Democrats do this "viability" thing, where there is horsetrading for votes when your candidate is no longer "viable."