Enough already of the Iowa bashing..

[question everything]

8. No. Cruz won Iowa

Only two non-incumbent candidates won Iowa on their way to the White House: Bush in 2000 and Obama in 2008.

The problem with Iowa is two folds: first, all caucuses disenfranchise voters who cannot be at a certain place at a certain time for a long time and, for Iowa, on a cold winter night.

Second: no secret ballots. In Iowa caucuses one has to stand up and be counted, in front of family and neighbors, perhaps bosses and subordinates. Each group is at a corner of the room and then they start trading. I was there in 1988 and the final winner of our caucus was declared by... a toss of a coin. Did not matter. It was a suburban caucus where Dukakis won, but the neighbor from Missouri and more left leaning Gephardt won the state.

I have been telling this story several times. In 2008 a friend's child was active in the Obama campaign but the parent, not enthusiastic about Obama voted for him. After all, the child was there. But in the general, the vote went to McCain. And it is not to judge the vote, it just to show how open votes can corrupt the final outcome.