The Iowa Caucus is receiving more attention than it has in years. The race is a four way dead heat between Howard Dean, John Kerry, John Edwards, and Dick Gephardt. Turnout is expected to be well above what it has been in recent years.

Edwards and Kerry have received the most attention in recent days as their numbers have shot up at the expense of Dean and Gephardt. It's tough to say who's going to pull this one out, but I believe Edwards is the real dark horse candidate in Iowa at this point. All he has to do is finish strong, and he'll have momentum heading into the upcoming primaries. If Dean or Gephardt don't finish first, it will be viewed as a disappointment since expectations have been high for them. Any one of these four could win it at this point which makes it exciting to watch for us political junkies.

I also wanted to comment about former Senator and US Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun dropping out of the race on Thursday. Her poll numbers never got out of single digits, and I think she knew her chances were slim from the word go. However, this woman is a class act and did a great service by running. She contributed to the political dialogue, and deserves a lot of credit. In her own words:

"When women run, when people of color run, we open up the possibility that women and people of color can win. I have a record of building bridges, bringing people together, and breaking barriers, and I am proud of my role in breaking new ground with this campaign. I was able to walk in the footsteps of my hero, Shirley Chisholm, and we qualified for ballot position in more states than any woman has ever done in the history of this country."