The Iowa Caucuses are finally history. By now you know the winners ... former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee for the Republicans and Illinois Senator Barack Obama for the Democrats. Both won decisively.

Who lost? Obviously Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards did not finish first, but they are all still very much alive. Edwards wanted desperately to win Iowa and now he and Senator Clinton limp into New Hampshire.

Yet, limping is better than not going at all. Senator John McCain awaits Huckabee and Romney has significant support in the granite state as well.

Hard to believe that in the next 32 days 24 states will hold primaries - 24! By the night of Feb. 5 the nominees may have been selected. The conventions aren't until late summer ... the general election in November ... months away!

This is the 11th presidential race I have covered in my career. All have had their elements of excitement, surprise, disappointment and relevance. I saw blood on the...

It's not Super Bowl Sunday but it IS Caucus Day 2008.

The candidates are ready – some holding true to their dream, others ready to pack it in, even if they're not quite ready to admit it. By midnight tonight, a few will be celebrating, and others will be fretting over what to do next. A few tears will probably be shed as well.

For John Edwards, this day and night are huge. I spoke with him earlier this morning. Upbeat as always. Smile intact. Eyes bright and focused and telling. The courtroom stare – the confidence portrayed before a jury was there – but I felt I also sensed a touch of holding one's breath. Just a little tentative. That's my read – could be right, could be wrong.

Either way, he knows the stakes are higher than most of us will ever know. This is serious business. He's put himself out there for criticism and examination in ways most human beings will never comprehend.

I've covered John Edwards since his first political...

Less than 24 hours until the caucuses begin. All the new polls show the only Democrats with double-digit preference are Senators Obama and Clinton and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.

The latest poll I saw this afternoon shows Obama and Clinton tied and Edwards only a point behind. IF those numbers hold, Edwards leaves here with a big bounce. If not, the air may slip of of his game ball.
We should know the outcome by 9 p.m. Thursday.

Until then, more calls, more door knocking, more hand shaking and more strategizing. The Iowans I have talked with love this process. The out-of-state volunteers are somewhat contagious with their abundance of energy. All those participating renew my faith in the process with each new conversation.
It really doesn't matter if you're for Mitt or McCain. For Paul or Fred or Mike. For Obama, Hillary, Johnny, Joe or Chris. Did I leave anyone out? if so, not by design. Can we get by negative ads? Are you kidding?

Can...

In less than 36 hours, Iowans will caucus and officially begin the process of selecting America's next president.

It's a process that began decades ago to prevent political bosses from dominating the primary process. It seems to work here in frigid Iowa, even if the process seems convoluted to those of us who live in North Carolina.

This is retail politics that is truly retail. One on one. Doors knocked on. Phones called. Hands shaken. These voters will literally stand up Thursday night and proclaim, in public, their preference.

John Edwards is hoping for an upset. The latest polls have him either basically tied or several points behind. Can he survive? We just don't yet know. No one does.

His campaign hopes an early-morning disappointment is not an omen. In the middle of the night, while the candidate and staff and media was in the middle of the 36-hour "Marathon for the Middle Class," his bus broke down. The motor coach was abandoned, and alternate...

We're here. Photojournalist Keith Baker and I are back for the caucuses.

We were here in 2004 and we're sure we would never be that cold again. Wrong! Wind chill today was hovering somewhere around minus 15. As we checked into the hotel I asked about the weather and was told, "oh yes, we'll be in the negative tonight."

While the weather is frigid the politics is anything but. John Edwards campaign staff is working around the clock as are the staffs for the other major players.

This is huge. At least 2,500 journalists have been credentialed for Thursday night, twice as many as when we were here in 2004. 250 media outlets from other countries are a here. Iowa has become a frozen melting pot as the BBC and Japanese TV are leading the foreign contingent.

Wednesday we head to Ames to spend time with folks from Raleigh who are here to knock on doors and talk with undecided voters. New Year's Day those voters preferred pigskin over politics.
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