Walter, you are not exactly channeling the voice of America's greatest political journalist ever, Hunter S. Thompson (of blessed memory).

I suggest laying in a formidable store of scotch, ether, LSD, and valium before trying to foist this pedestrian analysis on us from New Hampshire and beyond.

Go get the real story, Walter, and tell it. Claim your place in the pantheon of journalists who dare to speak the truth.

Walter, you seem to be the only Salon reporter who realizes that John Edwards is still running for President. I think this is the only story on Salon about the Iowa caucuses which even mentioned Edwards' 2nd place showing, which as you mentioned is very good considering the record-setting turnout. Can you explain this resistance to mentioning Edwards' campaign? I noticed it on MSNBC's coverage of the caucuses last night as well. I'm far from the only person who's noticed this, and it's yet one more example of the MSM not doing its job correctly. I mean, it's almost like some sort of memo went out to all journalists: Ignore Edwards, and he'll go away. Is even Salon going to go along with the corporate oligarchy's talking points on this? If so, shame on you all.

For noticing what Walter Shapiro actually wrote about and giving him credit where it's due. O you Shapiro critics who accuse him of endlessly pimping for HRC, how does this post fit into your narrative?

Definitely one of Shapiro's better stories; too bad it had to happen now. I guess, like everyone else, he never understood the Iowa caucus until he saw one. A bizarre mating ritual, to be sure, but somehow, like the original town meetings, more evocative of the original intent of democracy than a simple election.

Next time, though, get out of Des Moines a little more. Like all the others, Iowa is a fascinatingly diverse state; it's just a different kind of diversity. You can't know real American politics until you've been to an Ames Drinking Liberally.

Perhaps Walter changed his tactics and finally gave props to Edwards because of all of the complaints he got on his previous story which ignored Edwards...

Shapiro's analysis rings true. Obama has charisma and he has money, too which put him over the top! But I am still convinced that Edwards would have broader appeal than Obama in a general election. Hillary suffers from her conservative approach and her voting record which might appeal to a wider audience in a national election but not to Democrats who want change. I want change, too...however, I don't see Obama bringing on great change; on the other hand, Edwards would try to implement a real Democratic agenda. Obama would just try to keep the fires low in an effort to mollify everyone. That never works!

I've never seen Iowa or any caucus get such intense coverage as this year, and I watched the live broadcasts on C-SPAN of a caucus from each party. I realize we're still caught up in the horserace, and reporters are urgently making their way to New Hampshire rather than doing in depth reporting. Still, it seems a worthy story to compare caucuses and primaries. Primaries have secret ballots, and participation is broader, but caucuses are much deeper. I've voted in a primary state and attended caucuss in a caucus state, and I prefer the caucus. They ask morethan just voting, and I think that's good. Caucuses are for party building, at least for Democrats. I'm not sure why Republicans bother, but on the Democratic side, we elect local party officers, gather contact information for volunteers, and encourage participation in other party activities. How often do citizens get to engage in debates on public matters, and then participate in votes, yet that's what we do with resolutions. I'm not bothered about the secret ballot since we really elect delegates to the next convention, and in Minnesota, we vote for candidates for delegate, not candidates for office, even if that's a criteria for seeking votes. We have a party that is strong at the grassroots, and I think caucusing is part of why. Primaries by contrast ask no more than one more trip to the polls, with no committment to the party, maybe even with supporters of the other party crossing over to screw things up.

Can you even imagine a President Obama or a President Hilary Clinton? I hope I'm wrong but they both look unelectable to me, for fairly obvious reasons.

The mainstream media, and even many semi-mainstream publications such as Salon.com, ignore Edwards because they are afraid of him. He is not of or from the establishment. He is a warrior who really does want to wage war against corporate greed on behalf of ordinary citizens. That makes people with money and people with positions (important journalists, to take one example) very, very nervous.

I second Ionbud's notion that a little more gonzo spirit might allow journalists to say true things that aren't spoken in polite company. A few more liquids might also help journalists to see things below the surface.

For example, few voters are going to tell journalists that they are voting against waterboarding. It's not a major issue for anyone. But, it is the kind of rude behavior that has made people feel queasy in the polite Midwest. Iowa is a dovish state with a long civil rights record, despite the "it's a white state" innuendo from the media. That's not to say there isn't racism, but racist isn't how Iowans see themselves.

It hasn't escaped anyone's notice, except for the media, that our government doesn't waterboard lily white Christians with names like, say, "Clinton" or "Bush." No, they prefer to go after darker complected folks with Muslim-sounding names like, oh, say "Obama" "Hussein" or the like. I mean, just to pull some examples out of thin air.

Now, no one would go so far as to say that our current administration contains a bunch of closet Kluxers or that our Senate, which should be policing the administration's playground behavior, kinda looks like a White Citizens Council except maybe for a certain Senator from Illinois.

No one's going to say that, and certainly not the media, but seems like those unrepresentative Iowa yokels have dared to rap some powerful knuckles with a large golden ruler.