When I left Iowa, I never felt more positive about the political process, about involvement, about the awareness of voters. I also never felt more skeptical about nationalized punditry. The Des Moines paper’s New Year poll was right that Huckabee and Obama would win- when national polls had the top candidates tied. You could feel the energy at events and interview people who were caucusing and get a strong feeling of how the evening was going to turn out: record numbers of caucus goers, optimistic about their experiences, and positive about change…

So, jump start to watching coverage of the New Hampshire primary from Washington D.C. Thank goodness I have daily reports from my colleagues on the ground there. And checked out the local newspapers online that said Clinton and Obama were closer than in the national polls.

Either way, I am now really looking forward to an extended, competitive race. And to continued reading between the lines and getting reports from the ground.