Quote from Adler at Politico:
Thompson’s campaign is widely seen as ineffectual — it allowed a candidate who polled in second place nationally a couple of months ago slip to fifth place. Then he tied in Iowa with a candidate who hardly campaigned there.
Ruffini at Town Hall:
Count on voters to decide with their hearts, not with their heads. 2004 was all about momentum vs. organization. 2008 was about candidates of the heart vs. the head. Clinton and Romney had well-reasoned closing arguments centering around their fitness for the office, which should be the bottom line in any normal election. But in Iowa, the pull of identity, of gut decisions, and of emotion, won the day.
Quote from Barone on the 16-year itch:
Every 16 years--in 1976, 1992 and now in 2008--American voters have seemed less interested in experience and credentials and more interested in a new face unconnected to the current political establishment.
And, on media leftist bias: "Bush unemployment at 5% - Bad. Clinton unemployment at 5.4% - Good." Graph from Gateway's piece:
(Editor: Dr. X rightly observes that the above graph is highly misleading.)
Related: Busted again: Phony Repubs showcased at the NYT