Comment: Final thoughts on the Iowa Democratic Party Caucus

(Commentary by decorahnews.com's Paul Scott)

"What happens when a groundhog comes out of the ground in Iowa and sees his shadow?  It's six more weeks before you get Iowa Caucus results!

Sorry about that joke--and sorry about the way the Iowa Democratic Party struggled to count ballots Monday...and Tuesday...and Wednesday.  I hate to pile on, but I'd be shocked if Monday wasn't the very last Iowa Caucus.  So I'm ready to declare winners and losers in the Iowa Caucus:

--Winner: Pete Buttigieg.  Mayor Pete drew an impressive crowd of around 1,000 people when he spoke in Decorah in the fall.  That led to having a lot of precinct volunteers in Winneshiek County, a process which was repeated across the state.  Mayor Pete has now gotten the boost to his campaign that he needed from Iowa.

--Winner: Joe Biden.  I know, this doesn't make sense because Biden finished 4th statewide and 6th in Winneshiek County.  But the poor showing in Iowa will be overshadowed by the problems with the Iowa Democratic Party Caucus, so the Biden campaign will get a pass from the national media, who appear fixated on the problems in Des Moines.

--Winners:  All the volunteers who gave of their time to help make the caucuses work well in Winneshiek County.  It's important to stress that their work was unpaid and voluntary.  This is a great example of making democracy work.

--Losers: All the caucus volunteers, because they will have to suffer all the jokes of their family members and co-workers.  Sheesh!

--Losers: Those Iowans who took their time over the past year and a half to hear Presidential candidates explain why they were worthy of support.  If the Iowa Caucus has ended--as I suspect--we will never have the chance, as I did many elections ago, to sit down to lunch with Lamar Alexander and have lunch with him and four other people.  By the way, what ever happened to Lamar?

--Losers: The Iowa Democratic Party.  It's not good to be the subject of a punchline!