Before the primaries began I heard a number of people say that Iowa and New Hampshire would no longer have a major impact on who received the Democratic and Republican nomination.  Now that they are past, what’s the verdict?

I think that they still mattered – a lot.  Huckabee and McCain, whose campaigns were were virtually given up for dead, were given new life by Iowa and New Hampshire.  Barack gave two speeches which surprised many people, including me, with their power. Numerous Democrats dropped out of the race after seeing that they weren’t gaining traction in New Hampshire and Iowa.  Guiliani, who had been a front-runner, suddenly disappeared from the media coverage because he did not contest either state. Now his senior staff is going without pay because his campaign is having trouble raising money.

On the other hand, Iowa and New Hampshire are over but the primaries aren’t.  Neither party has a nominee. So at the end of the day, Iowa and New Hampshire mattered but they weren’t decisive.  But any candidate, like Guiliani, who chooses to write them off will clearly regret their decision.