an NPR reporter observed tongue in cheek as we made our way home from Iowa City where we had attended a caucus as observers. With the campaign already moved to New Hampshire, all the analysis going on as we drove back to St. Louis on Friday seemed more retrospective than it actually was. Obama’s win pleased me from the moment I began to suspect it was coming, as we entered the Iowa City High School cafeteria at 6:00 p.m. for a 7 p.m. caucus and found that the Obama space was entirely full already when spaces allotted for the other candidates, including very large spaces blocked off for Clinton and Edwards, were mostly empty. Official voting attendance at our caucus was 719, with 50 or so observers in the room. You can get an idea how crowded it was from the picture on your left. That’s the precinct chair standing on a table trying to direct traffic during the realignment phase.

This morning I was still pleased with Obama’s win, because I’m a lifelong Democrat who thinks it’s extremely important to replace the bankrupt and terminally cynical administration in present day Washington, because I like everything I know about this young professor/senator, and because I responded to Obama’s victory speech much as the editorial writer for the Iowa City Press-Citizen did yesterday morning: “Got hope? Iowa does. More than enough to share.”

First-round voting at our caucus broke down as follows: 333 Obama, 130 Edwards, 105 Clinton, 53 Biden, 43 Richardson, 26 Kucinich, 19 Dodd. The threshold of viability in the first round of voting in the Iowa Democratic caucuses is 15%, which meant 108 votes at our caucus. Clinton was not viable in the first round but picked up 15 votes in the realignment phase to finish with 120. Voters for Richardson, Biden, Dodd, and Kucinich were unable to get together as a group, and some left without casting a second vote. Others realigned with the three winning candidates. Obama and Edwards finished with 384 and 169 votes respectively. I know personally that one final voter for Clinton was persuaded to switch from Obama by the argument that Obama wouldn’t miss one vote, but Clinton’s situation was desperate.

All in all, it was enough to raise my aging consciousness, punch my political junkie card, and make me proud of my country. I’m still proud, though the swift boating has already started. This afternoon I had a phone call from someone, purporting to represent the DNC, who asked me who I’m supporting for president. When I said Obama this person responded, “Aren’t you afraid he doesn’t have enough experience to be president?” I expect my caller represented some Clinton surrogate rather than the DNC. “What’s the national committee doing campaigning against a Democrat?” I asked as the phone went dead.

I know some Americans would like to have some better system of determining party nominees than the patchwork system we have. I like the present system because it leaves room for small places like Iowa and New Hampshire to contribute their brand of town meeting politics to the mix. I’ll be watching tonight’s TV debate with great interest, though, now that I have some skin in the game.