Iowa's done. What does it mean?

I would have loved for Dean to have won Iowa.

But this is actually fine.

Gephardt is gone and with him goes his strategy of distortions, fear-mongering and extremely negative attacks. Negative works on it's target, but it also comes back to bit the hand that delivers it. Gephardt leaving the race is great news.

Kerry is pumped up to take on Clark in New Hampshire. This is good news for Dean. Will Kerry go negative on Clark? Where does Kerry go after New Hampshire?

Edwards is pumped up to take on Clark in South Carolina. This is also good news for Dean. Will Edwards stay positive? What does Edwards organization look like beyond South Carolina?

Dean has the money and the troops to campaign in every state. We believe in Dean because of his stand against the war, his deep understanding of the health care crisis in this country, his vision for children, the way he ties environmental policy to foreign policy, and a hundred other reasons.

So why didn't Iowans get the message about Dean. I talked to hundreds of Iowans in the last week. They were on total information overload and many of them had just shut off the noise. Everyone's message sounds good. Politicians always tell everyone what they want to hear. Sometimes, however, a doctor will tell you things you don't want to hear.

None of us expect Dean to win every contest. Any more than we expect our favorite baseball team to win every game. So while there is a lot of disappointment out there, there is also hope and determination and commitment.