Fatigue

A theme I'm increasingly hearing from campaign worker bees (reporters, too, but that's another story) is that they're just spent, exhausted, and wishing this thing would be over already. The caucuses got too intense too early for everyone to sustain their A Game to the finish line.

With that comes a streak of frustration that people shot their holidays for a contest that looks increasingly as though it may not wind up settling anything. 

And more than one person, reflecting on the fact that they're spending New Year's Eve in Des Moines (whatever unexpected consolations it may offer), has cursed the respective party machines for allowing the primary schedule to become such a trainwreck. I know that some Democrats in particular are in the market for Howard Dean voodoo dolls....

--Michael Crowley