kickoff to the '08 U.S. presidential election race

today marks the official kickoff (not official-official as candidates have been campaigning for months) of the presidential race across the border. but it is the first major electoral event in an election year, that being the iowa caucus.

i won't spend a lot of time explaining what a caucus is. if that's of interest, the collaborative minds at wikipedia have a thorough yet succinct overview of the caucus taking place as i write this. it is fascinating to understand this process and to watch people take part in democracy. while convoluted (there is a different way for both democrats and republicans) and probably even archaic in how the caucus is conducted, it is exciting to see democracy in action beyond just pulling a lever once a year.

the most important outcome of the caucus is to actually get some voting brought into the mix. for up until now it has only been polls, which can very often prove to be misleading or altogether irrelevant. that's not to say that the iowa caucus is flawless , accurate to the rest of the country or significantly more relevant. but it is people making a statement in public as to their intentions in the upcoming election as opposed to random questioning of people on the street who they might support. what this translates to is many candidates using this to determine whether they should stay in the race or throw their support for another candidate and drop out.

it goes without saying that i'm always very interested in an election year. a presidential race is always very exciting (much, much more than in canada) and i try to stay up to speed as much as i can. you can expect many more posts throughout the year as the race progresses with the milestones and news as it unfolds. i've not made up my mind on who i would vote for this year. i'm not even sure what party i would vote for. normally i'd say democrat, but there are republicans that i could see putting my vote behind. and yes, i can vote in the election. it's probably easier to wait until there are only 2 candidates (one democrat and one republican) to make up my mind, rather than wading through the varying stances on all the issues. but narrowing it down is all part of the process. whoever remains, it will be interesting.