THE RESULT – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:56 A.M. ET:  Iowa is over, and it turned out to be remarkably exciting.  This morning the Democratic powers declared Hillary Clinton the winner over Bernie Sanders by the narrowest of margins.  Bernie, as we've noted, will win next week in New Hampshire, where he is well known.  His trouble starts after that, when the primaries move South and the electorate becomes more representative of the Democratic Party.

Ted Cruz, who actually led in the Iowa race earlier, ultimately won a respectable four-point victory over Donald Trump, suggesting that Trump's decision last week to skip the Fox News debate may well have cost him dearly.  One commentator pointed out that many Iowans make up their minds late in the race.  But the real news last night on the GOP side was the rise of Marco Rubio, who came in third at 23% to Trump's second at 24%.  Rubio is now a major factor.

Which brings us to the optics:  Trump's concession to Cruz was gracious, which proves he can act civilized when he wants to.  Rubio's speech was brilliant and elegant.  But winner Ted Cruz's was not, as noted by Powerline's Scott Johnson in our quote of the day:

I think Cruz flubbed the opportunity presented by his victory speech. Rubio went first, while the viewing audience must have been near its peak during prime time, and gave a winning speech. I thought it effectively advertised Rubio’s strengths as a potential general election candidate. It was the best speech by a loser since Bill Clinton’s “comeback kid” deal the night of the 1992 New Hampshire primary, when Clinton came in second to Paul Tsongas, but that’s unfair; it was much better than that. In its critique of Hillary Clinton, Rubio’s speech was powerful; it was hard-hitting; it had the additional advantage of being true. By contrast, Cruz’s victory speech was overlong and flat. It seemed to me to advertise his weaknesses as a potential general election candidate.

And that will be a major talking point, and a key factor in Rubio's campaign to topple Cruz and Trump.  Rubio's ace is that he can take on Hillary and win.  Cruz and Trump both have stylistic flaws that can sink them.  The Cruz campaign is known for its smarts, and is probably reviewing Cruz's blunder carefully.  In effect, Cruz threw away a part of his victory by a dull, wordy speech with over-the-top gesturing.  I'd imagine he'll be better next time.  He has to be.

February 2,  2016