Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Clinton Clinches New Hampshire

It was an exceedingly close victory though Clinton's 39% to Obama's 37%

From ABC News:

Sen. Hillary Clinton has narrowly won the New Hampshire primary, becoming the first woman -- and the first-ever former first lady -- to win the first-in-the-nation contest.

Clinton beat out Sen. Barack Obama, who, riding a wave of momentum from his Iowa caucus victory, battled for a close second place in the Granite State.

Never thought to be a major factor in New Hampshire, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards came in a distant third in the state and will now focus his limited resources on South Carolina, where he won in 2004.

...

The tight race has also secured Obama as a formidable opponent for Clinton, setting up what may become a bloody political battle between the two Democratic rivals going into the big-state primaries Feb. 5.

Man if this had been a football game Clinton won it by a field goal. Despite the loss Obama has shown that he is capable of effectively competing with Clinton. That'll mean a lot going into South Carolina where I believe concerns about his electability originally kept him polling low. I expect SC to be a close race but I believe Obama has a good chance of pulling it off. On the republican side McCain finally had his day beating Romney by a five percent margin. My question is can McCain win anywhere else?

What been odd is watching the media cover this. Both CNN and Fox news commentators called Clinton's win an upset. First they called her inevitable, then kicked her while she was down for a week after her Iowa loss, and now they are trumpeting her previously predicted win as an upset. Looks like the media only loves you when you're winning Mrs. Clinton.