Would Iowa have been different?

I'm back.

So, without a cheating John Edwards, would Hillary Clinton have won Iowa and cruised to the nomination? Her top mouthpiece Howard Wolfson thinks so, according to ABC News.

But also at ABC, Jake Tapper , correctly, points out that Joe Biden and Bill Richardson may have done better here without the Breck Girl on the ballot.

It's an interesting parlor game. Better than arguing about the merits of tire inflation.

Speaking of the cheater, this is also funny. It moved Friday and was forwarded to me by Gazette political writer James Lynch:

ONE-THIRD OF WOMEN SAY THEIR OPINION OF HOW HAPPY A CANDIDATE'S MARRIAGE IS WILL INFLUENCE VOTE

SURVEY FINDS JOHN AND ELIZABETH EDWARDS HAVE HAPPIEST MARRIAGE

October, 2007 (New York, NY) - A national survey by Ladies' Home Journal found that 35% of American women say their opinion on the happiness of a Presidential candidates' marriage will impact their vote a great deal (13%) or somewhat (22%) in the upcoming election. The survey, conducted by International Communications Research for Ladies' Home Journal, reports that more than half of all women (52%) believe Elizabeth and John Edwards have the happiest marriage. The North Carolina couple's high scores are consistent across political parties - 58% of Democrats, 52% of Republicans and 47% of Independents say the Edwards' marriage is happy.

Of the 90% percent of women who have an opinion on the Clinton marriage, 38% of them believe that it is an unhappy one. Only 29% of women say the Clintons' have a happy marriage. Examining the political breakdown, 41% of Democrats, 18% of Republicans and 21% of Independents say the Clinton marriage is happy.

Judith and Rudy Guiliani scored a 34% on the happiness scale, and 45% of Republicans say the Giulianis are happy as opposed to 36% of Democrats and 25% of Independents. "I am sure Guiliani's new marriage is much happier than his old, and it's an interesting sign of change that people are now willing to give politicians a second, or even third, chance at happiness," adds Stephanie Coontz. "However, the way Guiliani broke up with his last wife does raise the question of whether having a happy marriage is necessarily a sign of a good personal character."

Michelle and Barack Obama, 43%, and Cindy and John McCain, 35%, also score high on the happiness scale. However, the women surveyed show more political bias with these candidates. Fifty-three percent of Democrats say the Obamas are happy as opposed to just 40% of Republicans and 38% of Independents; 54% of Republicans say the McCains' are happy versus just 33% of Democrats and 26% of Independents.

The Ladies' Home Journal poll also shows that significantly more African American than Caucasian women (62% versus 39%, respectively) say that their perceptions of how happy a candidates marriage is would not impact their voting decision.