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GUEST: Leigh Ann Caldwell, Correspondent for Free Speech Radio News

Illinois Senator Barack Obama and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won victories in Iowa’s Republican and Democratic caucuses last night. Obama defeated Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Senator John Edwards by a substantial margin. However, Clinton is leading other Democrats in nationwide polls by a wide margin. Among Republicans, despite having vastly better funding, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney lost to Huckabee by more than ten percentage points. However, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who bypassed Iowa to concentrate on other states, still enjoys a lead over other Republican contenders nationally. The nominating calendar has been greatly compressed this year, with 31 states voting on or before February 5th, starting with the state of Iowa. This year candidates spent tens of millions of dollars on campaign ads and hiring hundreds of paid staff in Iowa, believing that a win will catapult them to the nomination. The Iowa caucus is the first major electoral event in the Presidential elections and can be an early indication of which candidates for President might win the nomination of their political party at its national convention. In just four days the New Hampshire primary election will take place.

Listen to Caldwell’s reports from Iowa at www.fsrn.org.