Politics

Dems Still in Tight Race

With his Iowa victory, Barack Obama is considered a strong contender to be the Democratic nominee for president.

With his Iowa victory, Barack Obama is considered a strong contender to be the Democratic nominee for president. It's hard to believe a few thousand votes in Iowa can have so shaken the political landscape, but the front-loading of the primary process--originally seized upon by the Clinton campaign as a way to settle on her candidacy early so she could concentrate on defeating the GOP in November--has ended up giving the Illinois senator incredible momentum. But the race has only just begun. With New Hampshire heading to the polls on Tuesday--and less than a month until the primary season effectively ends on Feb. 5--the Clinton team is giving clear signals the gloves are coming off. "Until now," says chief Clinton strategist Mark Penn, "this has been a referendum on her. People will take a second look. They will take a harder look [at Obama]." Then there's Sen. John Edwards, who also bested Clinton. Edwards aides Joe Trippi and Jonathan Prince said that since Obama had outspent Edwards $6.5 million to $2.7 million in Iowa, losing to him by a few percentage points was as good as victory. "We've taken the momentum from him," said Trippi. All that's certain for now is that time will tell. A look at the Iowa winner, and how the other candidates spent their hectic week. Photo: Jeff Chiu / AP