Brief Iowa Postmortem

Update: Other members of the Rocky Mountain Alliance have weighed in:
The Daily Blogster
Best Destiny
Exvigilare
Thinking Right

And one from another great conservative Colorado blogger:
Slapstick Politics

I have neither the time nor the inclination to weigh in on all the vast amounts of political analysis following yesterday’s Iowa caucuses (or as Red State colorfully put it, the Hawkeye Caucii). But I will observe how troublesome it is for our nation and its two great political parties that (a little more than 6+ years after 9/11) last night’s winners – Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee – are the respective Democrat and Republican candidates most unqualified in matters of foreign policy and most unserious about national security and the threats that face us.

Michael Barone, one of the very best political analysts, attributes it to the “16-year itch” phenomenon. Perhaps he’s on to something. I don’t know.

The big question that nags me is just how representative Iowa is of the entire nation. My great consolation would be that the Hawkeye State is an aberration. Nevertheless, yesterday’s results – far from making Obama or Huckabee the inevitable nominees – have a real impact on the campaign down the road.

I don’t have so much hope for Democrats, but there’s still time for reasonable Republicans in New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina, and beyond to pull us back from the precipice. Though not my first choice by any stretch, even John McCain would be preferred as GOP frontrunner and nominee. The 71-year-old Arizona Senator now has a decisive edge over Mitt Romney in the Granite and Great Lakes States.

Meanwhile, my first choice candidate Fred Thompson hangs on by a thread with his third-place Iowa tally. We all should be rooting for him to take down the Huckster in South Carolina. And how does this all affect Rudy’s chances on Super Tuesday, February 5? Are we on our way to a brokered GOP convention? It sure looks like a long process ahead of us.

In the meantime, John O’Sullivan at National Review says the Reagan coalition needs to rally around Romney or face extinction (HT: Hugh Hewitt). I seriously will weigh these arguments going forward.

As expected, Iowa has shifted the campaign’s trajectory. A decisive response is needed. Soon.