If Huckabee is the populist rock and roller who wants to shake up the Republican Party, Mitt Romney represents the polished, yet buttoned-down establishment. While Hillary Clinton is respected for her experience, Obama is the fresh face inspiring a new generation.

In Iowa, on both sides, populism trumped the pocketbook; soaring sermons supplanted scripted speeches; and change overpowered the establishment.

"We've got to stand for change we can believe in," Obama said in his stump speeches.

"I want to be part of the process that changes some things, that changes our own Republican Party, that changes the future of this nation," Huckabee told his audiences.

Iowa is usually won on organization but Huckabee proved message mattered more than money. Evangelical voters put him over the top but now his challenge will be broadening his coalition for the primaries ahead.

"I think we have a lot of support with the fiscal conservatives out there. And hopefully we'll get a chance to talk about our economic record in Arkansas," Huckabee’s campaign manager said.

Going forward, Huckabee and Obama's challenges to clinching their parties’ nominations are similar. Both will come under scrutiny for their lack of foreign policy experience. Both will face questions about electability. And, if they are able to win beyond Iowa, their messages will say as much about the future of their political parties as they do about the men who want to take them there.