7:58 p.m. -- C-SPAN has live coverage of Democratic Precinct 53, and I'm pumped. I've got a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, my Bud's Broiler cup is filled with Brita water, and it's caucus time!!!
8:00 p.m. -- Temporary Caucus Chairman Jim Sutton conducts an interview stating the importance of caucusing and the time spent preparing for this one night. He sounds better than any actual politician.
8:06 p.m. -- I'm probably not original with this, but a good drinking game could be made out of number of times one hears the word "caucus." In the last three minutes, I'd have taken 13 shots already.
8:09 p.m. -- Cynthia Pederson defeats Jim Sutton for Permanent Caucus Chairman. Or, in this case, "Chairwoman." Jim Sutton, in my esteemed opinion, wins the 2008 "That's My Dog" Award.
8:13 p.m. -- Let's get the party started. Each camp is divided into corners of the room. Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Biden supporters have the four corners of the room, while Sen. Dodd has the center doorway, and Richardson occupies the "Got Milk" sign in the room. All undecideds meet in the center, where they will be persuaded by all factions. 15% of caucus-goers ate needed per candidate to determine eligibility for the final ballot. This is called "viability."
8:14 p.m. -- According to Capital News, Sen. Dodd is likely to drop out of the race if he finishes below fourth.
8:18 p.m. -- Sutton caucuses with Edwards.
8:19 p.m. -- Creepy white lady named Barbara, slinks into the Dodd preference group to ask Bill Gates wannabe David if he would like to switch to Richardson. For once, we hear real people debating the issues, unheard of by CNN/Fox News standards.
8:21 p.m. -- Barbara's massive left nostril contains a massive booger. This does not bode well for the Richardson campaign.
8:22 p.m. -- Random blonde boy is shown caucusing with Obama, wearing a Reggie Bush jersey! To the random Iowa voter this might look bad, as anything "Bush" in the Democratic Caucus is practically grounds for heresy. But this kid's parents are my kind of people, Saints fans and Obama people.
8:25 p.m. -- Tall, bald guy screams "TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ NOW!!!"
8:26 p.m. -- Among the frucus, someone says Clinton is in third place, behind Obama and Edwards. Granted, this is hearsay, but great hearsay if I've ever heard it. Santa look-a-like in the Biden group deserts Biden for Edwards. Another makes a push for Richardson, saying "you should go with who makes you comfortable, but consider Richardson." The Biden group looks at him like he's nuts.
8:29 p.m. -- White women supporting Clinton applaud loudly and annoyingly whenever someone new joins their group. One man moves over, and they hound him like he's Enrique Iglesias. He grins menacingly.
8:30 p.m. -- Allegedly, Mitt Romney has spent over $30 million on television ads in Iowa.
8:31 p.m. -- The Biden group is down to about 25 people, and now debate starts over whether or not to move to Edwards, Obama or Clinton. I've found my channel for caucuses and primaries for the rest of the year. CNN, Fox News and the like are filled with graphics and statistics. C-SPAN is focusing its coverage on real caucus members debating amongst each other as to which candidate is viable and which is a pretender. All of a sudden, C-SPAN is providing gripping, emotionally charged television. Who needs writers when you've got Iowans?
8:34 p.m. -- Creepy white lady is back, boogerless and in front of Reggie Bush boy. And she's full of it. She says, for the third time to someone new, that we haven't elected a senator since JFK, and "President Huckabee" scares her. Meanwhile, she's wearing a Richardson button and campaigning for Clinton. She made my head spin.
8:37 p.m. -- Cynthia Pederson announces that Dodd, Kucinich, Richardson and Biden are no longer considered viable, and those supporting must now realign themselves with one of the remaining three. A head count is conducted in the Richardson group, and 47 people support him. Pederson announces that 57 people are needed to be considered viable, and creepy white lady is looking around for those 10 people.
8:39 p.m. -- Biden group member contemplates moving to Richardson camp. This is such great television. Will they move? Won't they stay? No anchors, commentators or specialists. Just Americans.
8:42 p.m. -- Apparently, it's the Obama group making the most noise. Now chants are sparking up all over the place. It's near pandemonium in Precinct 53.
8:43 p.m. -- What happens in Precinct 53, stays in Precinct 53.
8:44 p.m. -- The Richardson group looks like it got bigger, but it doesn't look like he will be viable. CNN's entrance poll shows Edwards behind Clinton and Obama.
8:45 p.m. -- The Richardson group implodes, scattering its wounded ashes between Obama and Clinton.
8:47 p.m. -- Five minute warning announced. Edwards group performes a head count, finishing at 111. They lost count at some point, and debate erupts about how they should count again. Gotta love democracy, a hundred voices at once.
8:49 p.m. -- We have official pandemonium.
8:50 p.m. -- The cameras become glued to the Obama count, as his group looks like half of the room...
8:51 p.m. -- 120 and counting...
8:52 p.m. -- 135 and counting...
8:53 p.m. -- 150 and counting...
8:54 p.m. -- Final count in the Edwards camp: 116. Meanwhile, the Obama camp erupts in applause, although the official tallies haven't been marked.
8:55 p.m. -- Every unviable supporter is ordered to realign. The official word is moments away, and I'm at the edge of my seat.
8:56 p.m. -- The final counts are being added together, and the math is being performed for assigning delegates. Head counts are in: 186 for Obama, 116 for Edwards, and 74 for Clinton. Precinct 53 has made me so proud. The question is whether or not these results will indicate the overall trend across Iowa. If so, Clinton is looking terribly.
8:59 p.m. -- The final tally for delegates is announced. The precinct has 6 delegates to be awarded, and based on the head counts, Obama gets three delegates, Edwards gets two and Clinton is awarded one.
9:03 p.m. -- Both CNN and ABC News project Mike Huckabee as the winner of the Iowa GOP caucuses, with Mitt Romney coming in second. Some more good news from the "Whoop-dee-doo" desk.
9:05 p.m. -- CNN is now projecting that Barack Obama has won the 2008 Iowa Democratic Caucus, finishing at about the same ratio around the state as in Precinct 53. A note to C-SPAN: in 2012, remember Precinct 53 when scheduling live caucus shots. This is it for now, and more will be had five days from now in New Hampshire. Will Clinton come back? Will Obama sustain? Will Edwards become relevant? Will Kucinich see another UFO? Only time will tell.
8:00 p.m. -- Temporary Caucus Chairman Jim Sutton conducts an interview stating the importance of caucusing and the time spent preparing for this one night. He sounds better than any actual politician.
8:06 p.m. -- I'm probably not original with this, but a good drinking game could be made out of number of times one hears the word "caucus." In the last three minutes, I'd have taken 13 shots already.
8:09 p.m. -- Cynthia Pederson defeats Jim Sutton for Permanent Caucus Chairman. Or, in this case, "Chairwoman." Jim Sutton, in my esteemed opinion, wins the 2008 "That's My Dog" Award.
8:13 p.m. -- Let's get the party started. Each camp is divided into corners of the room. Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Biden supporters have the four corners of the room, while Sen. Dodd has the center doorway, and Richardson occupies the "Got Milk" sign in the room. All undecideds meet in the center, where they will be persuaded by all factions. 15% of caucus-goers ate needed per candidate to determine eligibility for the final ballot. This is called "viability."
8:14 p.m. -- According to Capital News, Sen. Dodd is likely to drop out of the race if he finishes below fourth.
8:18 p.m. -- Sutton caucuses with Edwards.
8:19 p.m. -- Creepy white lady named Barbara, slinks into the Dodd preference group to ask Bill Gates wannabe David if he would like to switch to Richardson. For once, we hear real people debating the issues, unheard of by CNN/Fox News standards.
8:21 p.m. -- Barbara's massive left nostril contains a massive booger. This does not bode well for the Richardson campaign.
8:22 p.m. -- Random blonde boy is shown caucusing with Obama, wearing a Reggie Bush jersey! To the random Iowa voter this might look bad, as anything "Bush" in the Democratic Caucus is practically grounds for heresy. But this kid's parents are my kind of people, Saints fans and Obama people.
8:25 p.m. -- Tall, bald guy screams "TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ NOW!!!"
8:26 p.m. -- Among the frucus, someone says Clinton is in third place, behind Obama and Edwards. Granted, this is hearsay, but great hearsay if I've ever heard it. Santa look-a-like in the Biden group deserts Biden for Edwards. Another makes a push for Richardson, saying "you should go with who makes you comfortable, but consider Richardson." The Biden group looks at him like he's nuts.
8:29 p.m. -- White women supporting Clinton applaud loudly and annoyingly whenever someone new joins their group. One man moves over, and they hound him like he's Enrique Iglesias. He grins menacingly.
8:30 p.m. -- Allegedly, Mitt Romney has spent over $30 million on television ads in Iowa.
8:31 p.m. -- The Biden group is down to about 25 people, and now debate starts over whether or not to move to Edwards, Obama or Clinton. I've found my channel for caucuses and primaries for the rest of the year. CNN, Fox News and the like are filled with graphics and statistics. C-SPAN is focusing its coverage on real caucus members debating amongst each other as to which candidate is viable and which is a pretender. All of a sudden, C-SPAN is providing gripping, emotionally charged television. Who needs writers when you've got Iowans?
8:34 p.m. -- Creepy white lady is back, boogerless and in front of Reggie Bush boy. And she's full of it. She says, for the third time to someone new, that we haven't elected a senator since JFK, and "President Huckabee" scares her. Meanwhile, she's wearing a Richardson button and campaigning for Clinton. She made my head spin.
8:37 p.m. -- Cynthia Pederson announces that Dodd, Kucinich, Richardson and Biden are no longer considered viable, and those supporting must now realign themselves with one of the remaining three. A head count is conducted in the Richardson group, and 47 people support him. Pederson announces that 57 people are needed to be considered viable, and creepy white lady is looking around for those 10 people.
8:39 p.m. -- Biden group member contemplates moving to Richardson camp. This is such great television. Will they move? Won't they stay? No anchors, commentators or specialists. Just Americans.
8:42 p.m. -- Apparently, it's the Obama group making the most noise. Now chants are sparking up all over the place. It's near pandemonium in Precinct 53.
8:43 p.m. -- What happens in Precinct 53, stays in Precinct 53.
8:44 p.m. -- The Richardson group looks like it got bigger, but it doesn't look like he will be viable. CNN's entrance poll shows Edwards behind Clinton and Obama.
8:45 p.m. -- The Richardson group implodes, scattering its wounded ashes between Obama and Clinton.
8:47 p.m. -- Five minute warning announced. Edwards group performes a head count, finishing at 111. They lost count at some point, and debate erupts about how they should count again. Gotta love democracy, a hundred voices at once.
8:49 p.m. -- We have official pandemonium.
8:50 p.m. -- The cameras become glued to the Obama count, as his group looks like half of the room...
8:51 p.m. -- 120 and counting...
8:52 p.m. -- 135 and counting...
8:53 p.m. -- 150 and counting...
8:54 p.m. -- Final count in the Edwards camp: 116. Meanwhile, the Obama camp erupts in applause, although the official tallies haven't been marked.
8:55 p.m. -- Every unviable supporter is ordered to realign. The official word is moments away, and I'm at the edge of my seat.
8:56 p.m. -- The final counts are being added together, and the math is being performed for assigning delegates. Head counts are in: 186 for Obama, 116 for Edwards, and 74 for Clinton. Precinct 53 has made me so proud. The question is whether or not these results will indicate the overall trend across Iowa. If so, Clinton is looking terribly.
8:59 p.m. -- The final tally for delegates is announced. The precinct has 6 delegates to be awarded, and based on the head counts, Obama gets three delegates, Edwards gets two and Clinton is awarded one.
9:03 p.m. -- Both CNN and ABC News project Mike Huckabee as the winner of the Iowa GOP caucuses, with Mitt Romney coming in second. Some more good news from the "Whoop-dee-doo" desk.
9:05 p.m. -- CNN is now projecting that Barack Obama has won the 2008 Iowa Democratic Caucus, finishing at about the same ratio around the state as in Precinct 53. A note to C-SPAN: in 2012, remember Precinct 53 when scheduling live caucus shots. This is it for now, and more will be had five days from now in New Hampshire. Will Clinton come back? Will Obama sustain? Will Edwards become relevant? Will Kucinich see another UFO? Only time will tell.
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