Jade Simmons

Concert Pianist, Arts Maven

When you think about candidates who got off to a sprint only to get stuck in the quagmire of swiftly changing public opinion and easily evaporating political momentum, you see Michele Bachmann.

Harvey Gotliffe, Ph.D.

Editor and publisher, The Ho-Ho-Kus Cogitator

It is not for a rabbi, a priest, an imam or atheist to close out our time here with a eulogy. What we do is best remembered in the hearts and minds of those we touched along the way.

Jacqueline Salit

President, IndependentVoting.org

Did independent voters make a mark in Iowa on Tuesday, as they did so conspicuously for the insurgent Barack Obama in 2008? And, do the Iowa results provide us with new insight into the aspirations of this mass of anti-partisan Americans?

Tammy Haddad

President, Haddad Media

There was a moment of shock and awe as the former vice president and 2000 presidential candidate gave his political views on the Republican candidates, Supreme Court decisions, Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and the perils of being called a "flip flopper."

Alan Grayson

U.S. Congressman for Florida's 9th District

Rick Santorum thinks that no one in America ever dies because he has no health care. Why does Santorum think that? Because he has to.

David C. Wilson

Political Science Professor, University of Delaware

My read of the data suggests there were many dynamics in the Iowa electorate not being captured by polls taken in the final week before caucus night.

Yossi Gestetner

Jewish community news analyst

It is time to end this "tradition" of Iowa voting first in presidential elections in form of caucuses followed a week later by the New Hampshire primary.

Michael J. Hunt

Political observer trained in Oakland, based in the Heartland

Precinct 66 nominated well-known Occupy organizer Ed Fallon to serve as Republican Caucus Secretary, customarily an innocuous role when held by a traditional member of the party. Fallon is not what you would call a traditional member of any party.

Michael P. McDonald

Associate Professor, George Mason University

Politicians running for office this November should take notice. The extraordinary Tea Party enthusiasm that buoyed Republican candidates in 2010 is unlikely to repeat itself.

John Zogby

Former president and CEO, Zogby International

This was the percentage of the vote the former governor received in the 2008 Iowa caucuses, a figure he never superceded in pre-caucus polls nor in the actual vote in 2012.

Robert Creamer

Political Organizer, Strategist, Author; Partner Democracy Partners

The odds have just increased that the Republican nominating circus is about to become a vicious, no-holds-barred dog fight.

Dan Bimrose

President, Midwest Progressive Outreach Institute and host of Liberal Fix Radio

Rick Santorum's implication is that the Democrats are responsible for broken families. If the breaking up of American families is truly the cause of our economic failures, which is an incredibly weak argument, he may want to point his finger at Republicans like himself.

Michael Russnow

Screenwriter; former member, WGAW Board of Directors; former U.S. Senate aide

In reviewing the Iowa Caucuses, wherein former Governor Mitt Romney achieved his desired victory, I can only conclude that the votes demonstrate conclusively Shakespeare was right about the masses and their follow-the-pack mentality.

Ari Melber

Attorney & MSNBC Contributor and Nation Correspondent

The Iowa results seem to suggest a close three-way race - 25-25-21. Yet among self-identified Republicans, the totals were actually 28-27-14, showing that Santorum and Romney lead the base, while independents and new voters propelled Paul.

Michael J. Hunt

Political observer trained in Oakland, based in the Heartland

Every Presidential election year since 1824 has produced a biography of a candidate who has set his or her sights on the White House. The 2011 election is no different. But a combination of fewer print journalists on the trail, a heavy reliance up to the minute information provided via social media, particularly Twitter, and an overall sense of disillusionment with government and politicians could perhaps signal an end to this tradition.

Jonathan Richards

Cartoonist

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