DeSantis Hastily Drops Out after Iowa

I was wrong. I predicted DeSantis would take the Iowa caucuses for the dog and pony show that they are and stay in the campaign. It’s possible Trump offered him a position in the Reich, but I don’t know.

The procedure of the Iowa caucuses chills the vote all by itself, and the aggression of Trump supporters likely double-chilled it. Even on the Democratic Party side, people who have endured a caucus report significant bloviating and bullying. I think the caucuses violate voting rights laws and should be eliminated. Iowa turnout was low, calling the meaning of his victory into question. I think if DeSantis were serious, he’d have stayed in until New Hampshire.

It still amazes me that Americans are willing to let the bizarre Iowa caucus procedure set the tone of all presidential elections. Of course, winning Iowa does not necessarily mean a final victory. If so, Bernie Sanders would have been president at some point. It’s the parties that allow this to happen. When a candidate wins Iowa, the parties put considerable pressure on the other candidates to drop out. Maybe that’s why Howard Dean screamed.

This is good news for Biden because Republicans are determined to offer their voters no choice, and that may rub folks the wrong way — but of course, Democrats offer no choice either — to be expected when there’s an incumbent, but still.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Republican ticket is Trump/DeSantis. But if Trump promised DeSantis anything, DeSantis should be on notice…