The state of Iowa can take its share of credit for the history-making campaign of President-elect Barack Obama, and not just because of the 54 percent to 44 percent margin of victory for Obama Tuesday within the state.

It started back in January, when Iowa stunned the nation by giving Obama a victory in the Iowa caucuses.

In addition to Obama's win in the caucuses, Hillary Clinton finished a disappointing third place, behind John Edwards. That showing went a long way in taking the "ability" out of the "inevitability" of the Clinton campaign.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Cumming who was re-elected Tuesday, touched on the history-making victory by Obama - and Iowa's part in it.

"Iowa launched Barack Obama on his winning journey, and today Iowa was proud to be part of the great wave of change that swept him into the White House," Harkin said. "I can't wait to get back to work to help President Obama get America back on track."

Leading up to the campaign trail, out-of-state critics had taken plenty of shots at Iowa for holding the pole position in the caucus and primary schedule. For that matter, plenty of people within Iowa's borders had questioned the state's stranglehold on the first major event of the political season.

One of those criticisms had been low participation rates in previous caucuses. But some of the most brutal and insulting criticisms focused on the demographics of the state populace, which detractors often said was not diverse enough to warrant such an important position.

When Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign in June, Dennis Goldford, a professor of politics at Drake University, said Iowa opened the door for Obama to win the nomination by proving that he could attract white voters.

"Prior to Iowa, most African American voters didn't think white voters would by any measure support a black candidate," Goldford said.

It's impossible to tell if Obama would have won the nomination and the election had he finished second or third in the Iowa caucuses 10 months ago.

What we do know is Iowa voters dispelled a common notion that a lack of racial diversity automatically equates to a certain way of voting.

All Iowans who participated in the January caucuses and Tuesday's election can take some pride in that.