So the Iowa caucus has come and gone for the 2012 election. Does it really mean anything in the overall grand scheme of things? Not really. The Iowa voters don't necessarily pick the candidate that will eventually be the nominee. And when it comes to the voting demographic in Iowa, it does not come close to being an accurate representation of the overall national voting demographic. Regardless, though, Iowa goes first... as it has since 1972. And though it might not pick the winner all the time, it can definitely derail campaigns and make other soar.
On December 29th, the Arizona Green and Libertarian parties filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of Arizona charging that the state's new voter registration forms violate their First Amendment right to freedom of association and their Fourteenth Amendment right of equal protection under the law.
Not long after the president’s inauguration Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the Senate, told the National Journal’s Major Garrett his principal objective was to make Barack Obama a one-term president. What Mr. McConnell said in that interview, as a public declaration, is without precedent in our history – and foreshadowed the political and legislative difficulties that ensued.
A recent Gallup Poll finds that the average American is slightly right of center ideologically. The implication? If Americans chose their President on the basis of their ideological views and perceptions of the candidates’ views alone, Gallup says that Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul would be in the best position for the 2012 election.
Barack Obama took the presidential oath of office January 20, 2009. The challenges he inherited on that historic occasion were as great as any president has faced – including Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt; any assessment of Mr. Obama’s presidency not accounting for those challenges would be incomplete – and, more telling, dishonest.
In a move sure to be controversial and which has already received national attention, Arizona legislators have redrafted legislation to allow guns to be carried at public colleges and universities. Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a previous attempt, not because she was particularly opposed to the idea, but because it was unclear and murky. She hasn't voiced an opinion on the new bill but is known to be pro-gun.
The Iowa caucuses take place tomorrow. What’s fascinating about this often-called “irrelevant” stop on the Republican primary parade is that it may end up highly significant if not decisive for the current field of candidates.
