I cannot understand why the candidates and the press continue to give so much credence to the outcome of the Iowa caucuses. I never understood it much in the past and this year, I venture to say, that the results of Iowa will be even more meaningless than they have ever been. To say the results stand for what the rest of America wants is like saying that the person who stands in line for hours so they can get a free Ipod will be made the President of Apple, Inc. Being first means nothing; especially if you are a sparsely populated, non-diverse state like Iowa.

This year will show, maybe for the first time, just what little influence Iowa has. Sure, there will the usual crowing by the winners and the usual excuses by the losers but come February 5 th, when California votes, all of that noise will be just an echo as our state, with its mammoth, extremely diverse, population speaks for the nation.

As a voter, right now I am feeling a little bit jilted. I know that Senator Barack Obama held a small rally in Santa Barbara a few months ago but that had more to do with Oprah Winfrey's money than it did with California voters. Outside of this glimpse of the race has any other candidate been here to woo us?

I just hope that the candidates, all of them, hang in there for a few weeks after Iowa and let us Californian's vote for them. Only then will have a real reading of their chances; after that they can decide to stay in the race or go home.

I also hope that California voters will not be swayed by Iowa. Vote for the man or woman you think is the best candidate, not the one chosen by a minority of the country.