The LuLac Edition #385, Jan. 3rd, 2008

PHOTO INDEX: FORMER GOVERNOR MIKE HUCKABEE MAKING SWEET MUSIC AMONG THE CORNFIELD IN IOWA, AND SENATOR BARAK OBAMA WITH OPHRA.

AMATEUR NIGHT!!!

So they came out to vote in Iowa and was it very interesting. Mike Huckabee beat back the millions of Mitt Romney. Romney looked absolutely shaken on TV when he was interviewed about his showing. On the Democratic side, Senator Barak Obama took first place leaving Senator Clinton and former Senator Edwards in a virtual tie for second place. Look for the Clintons to put a happy face on the results and Edwards to gamely hang on. When the history books are written on this one, they will state simply that Sen. Barack Obama, campaigning to be the first black president in American history, won the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, turning back rivals Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in the opening test of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee rode a wave of support from evangelical Christians to victory over Mitt Romney.
Obama, 46, and a first-term senator from Illinois, and Clinton each had sought to make history, he the most viable black presidential candidate in history, she a former first lady bidding to become the first female commander in chief.
Edwards battled them to a standstill, fighting to improve on the second-place finish in the 2004 caucuses that was good enough to land him the vice presidential slot on the Democratic ticket. Late Thursday, he told The Associated Press that the Iowa caucus showed that voters are choosing change over the status quo, and he vowed a vigorous campaign into New Hampshire.
Among other Democrats, Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Joseph Biden of Delaware, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson got little to show for their effort, and it seemed possible the field would grow smaller before New Hampshire votes on Tuesday.
It appears that being in the second tier on the GOP side is a tad better than being on the Dem side. Dodd and Biden, towering figures in the Senate barely registered with the Iowa public. (Maybe those Iowans weren't sure where Delaware or Connecticutt was on the map!) Same with Bill Richardson. And the stories that those three were trying to cut deals with Obama has to be a disappointment to the Clinton people. On the GOP side, McCain and Thompson, finishing far behind Huckabee at least seem poised for a run at daylight.

As exciting as it was, keep in mind politically this is Amateur Night. There is a long way to go in the nominating process. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton lost Iowa and became President. Pat Robertson and Richard Gephart won there and never made it to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. It is worth noting though that both parties picked newbies if you will, and ones who are polar opposities. The next few weeks will determine who the pretenders are and who the real players will be. How tonight's winners, Obama and Huckabee stand up to the onslaught coming their way will tell us if this is just a moment in the sun or a trend. This will be fun to watch.

TOLD YA!!!!

The other day I criticized some of the banks in this country for the way they treat consumers who hold their credit cards. Here's the latest: Faced with mounting account delinquencies, major U.S. banks are penalizing credit-card customers late on payments by hiking their accounts to maximum default interest rates of 30% and more -- even those with good credit records. Still another reason to screw the credit card companies, pay them off if you can but leave a balance of 27 cents. It'll cost them more money to bill you that pay that off. Or just file for bankruptcy en masse and give them what they deserve....no consideration.