Why Hillary Clinton Beat Obama in New Hampshire

A brief look at quotes from the past news day:

"Hillary Rodham Clinton: Exhausted and frustrated by a campaign gone suddenly wrong." – The Associated Press

"Only 2 people attend Clinton support meeting" – A misleading headline from The Missourian

"So Much For a Raucous Caucus--Clinton Campaign in Freefall" – The Seattlest

"Hillary's Poisonous NH Cloud" – Grist Magazine Headline

"Barack Obama Will Win New Hampshire" – Rockbridge Weekly

"Facing a double-digit defeat in New Hampshire, a sudden collapse in national polls and an expected fund-raising drought, Senator Hillary Clinton is preparing for a tough decision: Does she get out of the race? And when?!" – Drudge Report

That's enough punditry for now. Here's the only quote that matters:

"Clinton 39%, Obama 37%" – The New Hampshire Voters

After most polls predicted a huge, double digit victory for Illinois Senator Barack Obama in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary, the actual voters had an entirely different idea.

Hillary Clinton's win is not just a win for her campaign and supporters, but it's a win for democracy and a democratic process, and a defeat for a media that's become over obsessed with horse races and poll numbers.

It's amazing, or at least it should be, that most of the national media had, to one degree or another, anointed Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for President after a victory in the small state of Iowa, at a time when the vast majority of the country hasn't really started to pay any real attention yet, much less actually cast a vote!  

Why Obama Lost

In New Hampshire, Clinton didn't so much win as Barack Obama was rejected. Exit poll data reported by CNN shows that an estimated 15% of voters in the Democratic primary made up their minds in the final three days of the election, after Obama's stunning Iowa upset.

What the numbers mean is that actually took a harder, closer look at Obama as not only a candidate, but one who could well eventually become the nominee. A majority decided that they didn't want that day to come.

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