An Internet hub for moderates, centrists, and independents, with domestic and international news, analysis, original reporting, and popular features from the left, center, and right

« Hillary Clinton Wins New Hampshire Democratic Primary

One Gauge of Foreign Interest in Our US Presidential Race »

Clinton Wins in New Hampshire: Egg on My Face…for Now

Posted by MARK DANIELS in Politics.
Jan 8th, 2008 | Comments

I thought that Barack Obama would beat Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire today…and handily. That wasn’t to be. Why?

Apparently, female voters went for Clinton in a big way today. But the reason for that isn’t manifestly obvious to me. My wife went to dinner tonight with two other women, all college educated baby boomers. My wife, for one, is ready to vote for a Democratic candidate this year. But all three of the women, as well as all of the college-educated baby boomer women with whom I have discussed this race, are clear that they would never vote for Hillary Clinton. They don’t trust her.

Perhaps that mistrust of Clinton exists even among many of the women who voted for her in New Hampshire today. But things happened over the weekend. One was the appearance that Obama and former Senator John Edwards ganged up on her during the debate on Saturday night. The other was her response to the question of a New Hampshire questioner who wondered how she was able to keep going on.

I have no doubt that response was genuine and perhaps, it caused many women to feel that they needed to stand with Clinton as she faced off against opponents they perceived to be bullying her. (If that’s the case, then New Hampshire women rallied around Clinton the way that New York women rallied to her side in the face of apparent bullying by her Republican opponent in her 2000 Senate race.)

I still believe that Obama will be the Democratic nominee this year. But New Hampshire has given the Clinton campaign a reprieve for now.

Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad here, right now: $0

StockBoySF

I suppose the copies of ballots that the Dems had to make to replenish their stock were pre-marked with a check by with Hillary's name.... :)

I'm kidding and I don't think she would ever commit voter fraud. But I couldn't resist it... especially given how yesterday everyone was supporting Obama and yet Hillary managed to win today. Good for her.

Even though I'm an Obama supporter and was thrilled he won Iowa by such a large margin, at the time he won IA, I did predict Hillary would win NH, but the vote would be close. The last couple of days I was hoping Obama would win, just given the sheer lead he had in the polls.... but I wasn't going to place the cart before the horse. I thought Hillary would win in NH because of her history with the state over the years.

Anyway, I hope it's her last win, and at the risk of ruining my track record (hey, that's half the fun anyway), I predict that SC will go to H/O/E, but E will have closer margins to H and O in SC than he did today in NH.

The only good thing out of the NH primary is that it proves that none of the top vote getters should be counted as being out with just one (or even a few mediocre) showings.

With that, I think Kucinich and what's-his-name... Gravel (is he still running?) will pack it in. I don't think any Republican will pack it in just yet. They've all had mixed results and this early in the game they have plenty of... hope. They will all hang in a little longer. Though I think Thompson will probably be the next Repub. to go.

Go Obama!

DLS

Instead of college kids, maybe Hillary Clinton bussed in senior citizens from nursing homes or other AARP-and-such gray-lobby people from Massachusetts -- are there casinos in southern New Hampshire, or were they promised some money to spend at the liquor outlet? Heh, heh

kritt11

Since experiencing preelection burnout with all of the hype, I no longer thought anything would shock or surprise me. I was wrong. In a way, I'm glad, because as charismatic as Obama is, he could still get in and make major errors. Hillary still strikes me as more centrist and complex on issues than he is. Plus,being a female, I am happy that a female finally won a primary in a pres election. We are finally evolving away from middle-aged white men.

G_Hendricks

http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/prima... What happened to the votes that went to Obama? Did someone just throw 'em away? For how much? I'd like to know

AustinRoth

From Scrappleface:

(2008-01-08) — In the wake of the unexpected outcome of the New Hampshire Democrat primary Tuesday, sources at the Democrat National Committee (DNC) said they’re still trying to figure out whom to sue amid a flurry of allegations of fraud, malfunctioning electronic voting machines and voter intimidation.

“It’s a forgone conclusion that if the race outcome defies the pollster predictions, there must have been corruption,” said an unnamed DNC source. “Just because it’s an intra-party contest, doesn’t mean we’ll subject the results to less scrutiny.”

The DNC source added that “Americans need to have faith in the electoral process, but the New Hampshire Democrat primary has the smell of Bush-Gore 2000 all over it. We’re determined to follow the facts where they lead.”

AZChas

No egg on your face, Mark. I think women shifted their votes too fast for the polls to notice. The weekend events you cite, and the doom and gloom news that Clinton's campaign was sinking caused women to rally to her to keep her from getting knocked out of the race early. I think New Hampshire voters just wanted to keep her candidacy alive.

Somebody

What came out of this in bright blinking lights and shooting star fireworks is what I have been saying for some time now. Hillary is the DNC baby. The party apparatus loves her, supports her and works for her. She has connections and she can get things done with their help.

Obama is Jimmy Carter. An Outsider who came to Washington. Who does not have the support, trust or help of the establishment and as such will have to not only fight the GOP but the DNC as well.

Even I forgot how powerfully entrenched the DNC is in this nation and how they are still a throw back from the early days of back door politics.

Obama will no more be able to change things then Bush, or Carter or Mr. Smith Going To Washington. Its all just talk and I think the people that were not 18-24 years old understood this last night now that blogs all over the world are starting to take Mr. Obama seriously and ask the tough question every other candidate has been asked a billion times.

kritt11

I actually agree with Somebody. Everytime we have an unpopular president we get someone who comes in with a change message. Obama is a great advocate for the citizenry to get more involved and pressure Congress to change the system. I think his message is spot on, but there are a lot of moneyed interests who would fight him tooth and nail to make sure the status quo remains the same. Voting for him would be a big risk, as most of his power comes from his popular appeal.

blog comments powered by Disqus