Yes, Iowa matters. No, Bloomberg is not a contender.

[Garrett78]

33. Clearly, as I already said, Iowa's impact this year has been dampened. In general, though...

...it's foolish and historically inaccurate to say Iowa doesn't matter (and even this year it's not meaningless). IA and NH always have an outsized influence on the narrative. And, usually, a candidate drops out after Iowa--that wouldn't happen if it didn't mean anything. In 2016 it was O'Malley. In 2008 it was Biden and Dodd. In 2004 it was Gephardt. And so on.

There's a reason why, outside of the DU bubble, the consensus is that Biden benefits from the mess that is Iowa (while the wind is somewhat taken out of the Buttigieg and Sanders sails). A prime time, undisputed announcement of the results with Biden finishing a distant 4th would have been far more damaging than what we're seeing with the absolute shitshow put on by the Iowa Democratic Party. It's 24 hours later, we only have partial results, what results we do have will be questioned (right or wrong), and nobody walks away with great momentum. As a result, Biden's odds of finishing 2nd in New Hampshire are greater than they would be otherwise. He may end up 3rd or 4th anyway, but the Iowa chaos boosts his chances. 2nd in NH and 1st or 2nd in NV will help him maintain frontrunner status. Not because IA, NH and NV produce a ton of delegates, but because - again - the media narrative matters...a lot!