Americans excited by Iowa choices, ponder Clinton

By Andrea Hopkins

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Many Americans on Friday cheered the upstart victories of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee in Iowa's presidential nominating contest, viewing it as a comeuppance for big-money candidates.

While voters outside of Iowa were forced to watch from the sidelines as the Midwestern corn state kicked off the race for the White House, many said they were happy with the results, if a little surprised by the strength of the victors.

"Iowa is not a giant state or anything, but it spoke volumes, because people who were favored there didn't win." said Francis Charfauros, an Obama supporter and coffee shop manager in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Former Arkansas Gov. Huckabee posted a convincing victory in Iowa over rival Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts who outspent Huckabee by a 20-to-1 margin and had led the polls there for months until a late Huckabee surge.

The strong victory on the Democratic side of Illinois Sen. Obama upset what was once assumed would be the smooth path to the party's nomination for well-funded former First Lady Hillary Clinton.

The race has now moved on to New Hampshire, where several candidates could overtake the Iowa victors in the state-by-state process to choose candidates for the November election to replace President George W. Bush.

"I thought it was pretty cool actually," said Rod Frank, an Arizona construction worker.

"The last person I wanted in the White House was Hillary, and I thought it was cool that Huckabee took over the front runners," said Frank, who favors either Huckabee or Romney for the Republican nomination.

Ohio independent voter Zewge Tegegnework, 70, was just as pleased with the results.

"If the Democrats don't win, I'd take Mike Huckabee as a second choice. He's intelligent, he withstood Romney's negative attacks, and he is a gentle campaigner."

STAYING POWER

But the third-place finish by Clinton behind both Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards disappointed some.

"I'm a little bit sad for Hillary," said Ann Haugen Michael, 53, a Cincinnati Montessori teacher. "I'm an Obama supporter and Hillary supporter both."

Barbara Milligan, a retired secretary in Nashville, Tennessee, agreed.

"I'm disappointed that Clinton didn't come in first because I want to see a woman president," she said.