fpb | Let us hope it's a blip

Do I need to say that I regard last night's Iowa primary as an unmitigated disaster? On both sides, the worst candidate prevailed. What I have to say about Mike Huckabee I have already said; here I can add that a party who votes in the shallow and lazy Fred Thompson in third place is not worth electing. As for the Democrats, they have also voted for the shallowest and least competent candidate - a junior senator with no record and precious little by way of program. Whatever one may think of Edwards, he stands for certain definite things - the defence of the harassed middle class and the poor, in particular - and has taken clear and definite positions on a number of issues. And Hillary Clinton, however dislikeable she may be, has more experience than any other candidate. On both sides, people have voted for shallow personalities and poor records over competence and character. God help America if this is more than a blip.