Des Moines

HOWARD DEAN was a loser and you could tell. In his speech after finishing third in the Democratic presidential caucuses in Iowa, he acted like a madman–screaming, snarling, and shouting out the names of the states in which he intends to compete. Dick Gephardt, a classier guy, went home to St. Louis after pulling out of the race on the heels of his sad fourth-place showing here. The winners in Iowa, John Kerry, the new frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, and John Edwards, now an A-list candidate and a press favorite, couldn’t wait to get to New Hampshire to campaign for its January27 primary. There were less visible but important winners and losers in Iowa and here are some of them:

Winner: The war in Iraq. The capture of Saddam Hussein changed everything. It caused the war issue to fade so much that while 75 percent of Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa disapprove of the invasion of Iraq, the vast majority of them actually voted for a candidate who has supported the war. On the other hand, Dean’s candidacy is based on opposition to the war and he lost overwhelmingly. Bottom line: The war isn’t issue #1anymore.