If the Iowa Caucuses are the first test in the presidential race, then candidates Texas Gov. George W. Bush and former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley received lower grades than expected.

A panel of ISU political experts discussed the implications of Monday’s Iowa Caucuses in an open forum Tuesday, covering topics from a possible “bounce” for publisher Steve Forbes to the viability of Bradley’s campaign.

The panel, which met at noon in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union, included Steffen Schmidt, professor of political science; Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics; and Ray Dearin, professor of English and political science.

Visiting French journalist Alain Hertoghe also sat in on the discussion, which was moderated by Barbara Mack, associate professor of journalism and mass communication.

The majority of the talk during the one-hour program revolved around how the candidates will fare during the rest of the long campaign, particularly in the Feb. 1 New Hampshire primary, and what role the results from Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses will play in the rest of the presidential stretch.

Dearin said he was impressed by Forbes’ showing against GOP front-runner Bush and expected him to do well in New Hampshire. Forbes ran second in the statewide caucus, taking 30 percent of the vote compared to Bush’s 41 percent.

“It was enough to put [Forbes] within striking distance if [Arizona Sen.] John McCain can get Bush from the other side,” he said. “I think there will be a bounce for Forbes in New Hampshire. New Hampshire might be a state that’s made for Forbes.”

When asked to predict the results in New Hampshire, Dearin said he expected McCain, Forbes and Bush to finish first, second and third, respectively.

“[New Hampshire voters] pride themselves on being independent and finicky and not paying much attention to Iowa.”

But the other two ISU experts disagreed with Dearin. They both predicted that the order of finish in the New Hampshire vote would be Bush, McCain and Forbes, respectively.

Schmidt said he thought Forbes has portrayed himself as too conservative and is “painting himself into a corner” by taking such strong stands against abortion.

“Steve Forbes is now the standard-bearer for the pro-life movement,” Schmidt said.

Dearin also said he was impressed by the performance of conservative commentator Alan Keyes, who garnered 14 percent of the Monday vote.

“I think this proves passion does have an influence,” he said. “Keyes definitely got more votes for the dollar than anyone else.”

As for the Democratic race, Schmidt harshly criticized Bradley’s decision not to use negative campaigning against Vice President Al Gore in Iowa.

“I think it’s a possibility in this kind of politics that in order to win you have to raise the negative traits of your competitor,” he said. “Gore whacked Bradley on health care and scared the hell out of old people. That’s Bradley’s fault. He wanted to play this kinder, gentler campaign.”

Schmidt said Bradley should have run advertisements featuring alleged contradictions in Gore’s platform, such as his history of being pro-life, his weak stance on tobacco and his supposedly shady fund-raising efforts.

Schmidt said he thought Bradley would turn to more negative ads in the next week.

“Bradley will go for Gore’s throat in New Hampshire,” he said.

Schmidt also said a story published in the online magazine Salon, asserting that Gore’s marijuana use was much more frequent and later than he has publicly admitted, might hurt Gore in the upcoming weeks.

“If that story has legs, Bradley won’t have to talk about it because other people will,” he said.

But despite the criticism of Bradley’s campaign, Schmidt said he thought the race for the Democratic nomination was far from over.

The panelists also discussed Bradley’s pull with independent voters and students.

“Bradley supporters seemed to be people they haven’t seen before,” Bystrom said.

However, Dearin said he could not see Bradley overcoming the entrenched power of the party line Democrats, which by and large favors Gore.

“He’s got the party establishment. He’s got the endorsements of most of the senators and the governors,” Dearin said.