Tonight, it will be 19 degrees in Iowa, a dramatic improvement over last night. And about 120,000 Democrats will go into homes, schools and churches and choose, in full public view, the presidential nominee of their party. Across town, in a slightly different process, Republicans will do the same. All across the state, Iowans will have begun the essential process of healing our country so desperately needs.

Most thinking people now admit that we have lost our way in the past 7 years. We are not a country that fights wars of choice. We are not a country that tortures. We are not a debtor country. We are not an isolationist country. We are not a country that leaves poor people on rooftops for days on end. We are not a country that reserves the most basic resources of shelter, education, health care and economic opportunity for only the most fortunate.

We are -- at our core -- a country of compassion, of generosity, of opportunity. Dr. King taught us tolerance and inclusion. Mr. Reagan taught us to hold oppressive regimes accountable on the international stage. And Mr. Gore is teaching us to clean up after ourselves. Smart people can disagree about how best to act with compassion or to heal the earth, but no responsible American can disregard either obligation. Iowans know all this and tonight, whether they choose McCain and Edwards or some other combination, they will be choosing an agent of change.

By 8:30 tonight (Central) the caucuses will be over and the most important Presidential selection process of my lifetime will have begun in earnest. The precinct volunteers in Storm Lake and Ottumwa will have begged and cajoled and served cookies and twisted arms and all the polling will fade away... and we'll have some actual presidential preferences to examine, as opposed to the often inaccurate media representation of "the race." As you'll recall, 4 years ago, Mr. Dean was, on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to the media consensus. Mr. Kerry polled a distant third, Mr. Edwards was an afterthought.

So what will happen tonight? If I'm a Republican, I'm a little embarrassed that I don't have a very good candidate yet... but I may be saying that because I'm not a Republican. Tonight's GOP results may mean little, with Mr. McCain and Mr. Giuliani bypassing the state in favor, respectively, of New Hampshire and Florida.

For the Democrats, the results might be important. The polls suggest a dead-heat and even that outcome will, if nothing else, re-frame the national debate: it will officially be a 3-way contest. A distant third by any of the "favorites" would be a meaningful setback. I think it's very possible that Mrs. Clinton will have to deal with that outcome. I think Mr. Edwards will win the day by more than a few points. In my view, he has the right message, clear and practical plans, sincere and infectious passion and an impressive structure on the ground. At 7:30, when the "unviable" candidacies' supporters are re-distributed, Mr. Edwards will be the choice of the vast majority, taking a high-20's result into the mid-30's.

But, what do I know? I'll be right there with you, awaiting the outcome and hoping earnestly that, as has been said before, "...our long national nightmare is coming to a close."