Dean lost Iowa, but there’s a long road ahead

Ok. I admit it. I’m really disppointed that Dean didn’t come in first in Iowa. It seems that the voters of Iowa put electability first, but then saw either Kerry’s military credibility, or Edwards’ “southern touch” as more important than Dean’s broad new grassroots organization. But the road to the nomination, not to mention the White House, is not run or lost in just one caucus. (For a great overview of that theme, see John Nichol’s piece in the The Nation, now at Alternet). It’s more important now than even a week ago, that those of us who believe in grassroots democracy get out there and show our support for our candidates. I’m going out for Dean, but you should get out there and support whomever is your chosen standard bearer. The key is that we live in a country that has democratic structures, but we haven’t really used those structures much lately. The caucuses of Iowa were better attended and more vibrant this year than in decades (according to the NYT), and that’s a good thing. It may not have gone the way I wanted it to, but anything that gets people deeply involved in democratic processes should be applauded. Now let’s the rest of us get back into this. If you’d like to give money to Dean, visit his site tonight!