AWW, PHOOEY

Well, Clark's out.

Damn.

Well, the General learned a very valuable lesson about presidential campaigns: Never, under any circumstances, never pass up on participating in a democratic contest in a sparsely-populated rural state that has a whopping couple dozen delegates to offer, out of a couple thousand.

Obviously Clark's skipping Iowa was the dumbest decision by any of the candidates at any point in the race, including "yyaaaahhhrrr!" Just as obvious is that it's absolutely ridiculous that the results of one measely caucus, with a huge media assist, have more or less determined the course of the entire election campaign since.

This was Clark's fault as well, he has an amazing resume, but his campaign was essentially all downhill from the outset, when he was immediately hailed as the new frontrunner.

I'm sure there's plenty corks a poppin' over in Edwards-land. Feel the love of the unscheduled all-night Hootie & the Blowfish concert. Many a couple will hook up, get pregnant, have a botched delivery, raise an child with cerebral palsy, and their candidate will sue the doctors. Heyo!

(Point of clarification: I'm making a joke. I think the "junk science" smear is just that: A smear. I really like John Edwards, by the way.)

Naturally, this will change the dynamic of the campaign. Will Clark's supporters wade to Kerry, Edwards, or -- gasp -- Dean? Maybe, maybe, and probably not, respectively.

What it does mean, though, is that John Kerry has shot to the front of the TFM Primary. Congrats, you sexy, sexy man!

As for Clark, don't fret, he'll make a great Vice President/Secretary of State.