Obama, Huckabee sweep to Iowa victories

DES MOINES, Iowa - Sen. Barack Obama swept to victory in the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, pushing Hillary Rodham Clinton to third place and taking a major stride in a historic bid to become the nation's first black president. Mike Huckabee rode a wave of support from evangelical Christians to win the opening round among Republicans in the 2008 campaign for the White House.

Obama, 46 and a first-term senator from Illinois, told a raucous victory rally his triumph showed that in "big cities and small towns, you came together to say, 'We are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come.'"

Nearly complete returns showed the first-term lawmaker gaining 37 percent support from Iowa Democrats. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina appeared headed for second place, relegating Clinton, the former first lady, to a close third.

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What ALL other candidates of any party need to address now is the magnetic attraction Barak Obama has with the American people and the REASONS FOR IT. Here's a hint: People regard Mr. Obama as a family man who speaks for REAL family values -- not the kind of "family" values that the Republicans push that entails sex scandals and blatant corruption and a crazy man who wants to be Emperor of the World occupying the Oval Office -- and not the slick political machine that is the now stopped-dead-in-its-tracks Clinton "juggernaut."

The just plain folks of America, especially those of independent mind, those who cherish real family values are sick unto death of the stinking pile of shit that our government has become.

Americans are going to vote for the candidate they believe actually cares about their family and the struggles that most working families must face on a daily basis.

Oh, the reality may very well be that Barak Obama is as heartless as the rest of them but that's not what he represents. And people will vote for the representation.

Are Candidates Telling LIES? Eek. Who'da thunk it?

FROM POLITIFACT...

Fast and furious finish
With just two days until the Iowa caucuses, the candidates are unleashing a flurry of charges -- and making a few slip-ups. We find that Biden is overstating his role on Bosnia, that Romney never got an NRA endorsement and that Obama is wrong about gas prices. >>more

More from PolitiFact:
Pardon me: Huckabee vs. Romney: The two former governors have been criticizing each other about pardons. We find their claims are accurate and reveal starkly different approaches on clemency.

He didn’t stand in the way, but he didn’t always lead: The former Arkansas governor says he had the “most impressive” education record among the GOP pack. But open-ended superlatives are tough to prove, especially when you’ve got critics.

Clinton holds lead as Romney slips in Iowa

Interesting. See post below that proclaims Obama beating Clinton by a handy margin.

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Poll: Obama, Huckabee leading rivals

DES MOINES, Iowa - Presidential contenders rang in the 2008 election year with near-constant campaigning on Monday as a poll showed Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee leading their rivals with three days remaining before the Iowa caucuses.

The poll by the Des Moines Register showed Obama, an Illinois senator, with the support of 32 percent of those surveyed, compared to 25 percent for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and 24 percent for former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

Among Republicans, Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, had the backing of 32 percent of those surveyed, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 26 percent.

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