Well, there's nothing halfway about the Iowa way to caucus

I suppose as a newly-minted Edwards supporter, I should say something about the Iowa caucuses tonight.

As you undoubtedly know by now, Obama won handily -- far more handily than I ever would have expected. I liked him fine until he started pandering to the Christianists and running to the right (Schwarzenegger on cabinet?).

But Edwards in second place, narrow though his margin over Clinton was, is a nice statement. Especially when you consider that his showing came with far less money in his campaign coffers than his other two chief rivals had. Which, of course, means he needs more turkee.

Saith Edwards tonight:

Change won, the status quo lost, and the fight is on to see if we're going to have the kind of change we need to save the middle class.

Exactly right. Although the Obama victory doesn't thrill me, it does signal a desire for change, even if people apparently aren't looking more than, well, skin deep when it comes to Obama. I'm more convinced than ever that a policy of appeasement and "getting along," as Obama advocates, will be disastrous for the Democrats. Just as it has been in recent years ...

But I'm generally pleased with tonight's results. We'll say farewell to Joe Biden and Chris Dodd (go for Senate majority leader, Chris!) and see how New Hampshire goes on Tuesday.