NEW HAMPSHIRE BLOWDOWN BE THERE BE THERE BE THERE

Clinton kept ahead of Obama by a small margin and McCain came out of nowhere to win New Hampshire for the GOP.

To me, the Democratic primary so far demonstrates how close the election may be, and considering Iowa and New Hampshire, most primaries may be wide wins for Obama and narrow victories for Clinton. It could be either one's race.

Richardson may end up being Head of State depending on who he sucks up to, but I doubt Edwards will be picked for any cabinet or vice presidential ticket, however, since he has the stink of failure. Meanwhile, Biden and Dodd have both been issued a Moe slap, and should probably just drop out now.

And McCain's win proves that the GOP election will be absolutely unpredictable.

GOP Campaigning '08: The Race To Eventually Come In Second

Seriously though, I was pretty thrown off my McCain coming back here. I doubt I will ever fully understand how voters think in the U.S.

Richardson's been sucking up to Obama. He's allegedly been telling his people that in states where he's not viable, they should vote for Obama.

Also, I wouldn't say McCain came out of nowhere to win NH. They've been predicting he'd take NH for a long damn time. It's his state, yo. They love him in NH. I think the next state will be a better indicator of just how the Return of the Mack (once again) is really going to go.

I also wish Biden would get more TV time. That dude is a hilarious interview. It's like no one ever told him there are certain things you can and can't say when you run for president.

Also, my favourite part of tonight was Rudy having to duke it out with Ron Paul for the "also ran" category after all the money he sunk into NH.

As an NH resident I don't feel bad for the outcome. Nobody lost by one though I care less on who came out on top on both parties.

They must love McCain more then they do in Arizona, considering he's our Senator and all.

Well, it wouldn't be a close race if Hillary didn't pick up one of the primaries. Should be interesting... where's the next one taking place?

I'm interested in Rudy's failure. There's a clear element of intellectual dissonance being the Security candidate and accepting an endorsement from Pat Robertson, the guy who said that gays are to blame for Katrina and that America deserved 9/11. I'm hoping that will be the albatross around his neck, but nobody in the media really seemed to want to call attention to it.

Quote:

Should be interesting... where's the next one taking place?

For the Democrats, Michigan. Hillary will win by default, since the rest of the Democratic field is boycotting the primary.

Originally Posted by Bradylama

I'm interested in Rudy's failure. There's a clear element of intellectual dissonance being the Security candidate and accepting an endorsement from Pat Robertson, the guy who said that gays are to blame for Katrina and that America deserved 9/11. I'm hoping that will be the albatross around his neck, but nobody in the media really seemed to want to call attention to it.

Yeah, I'd noticed that, too. Also, he's suffering from those NY... was it the PD or the FD? I think PD. Anyway, one of them came out and basically said he was partially responsible for dropping the ball in 9/11 clean up deaths. That couldn't have helped him any.

I'd say the smart thing to do would be for Edwards to drop out and give his support to Obama. He's lost any hope of momentum, and I suspect he may try and push for a VP slot now.

Originally Posted by Denicalis

Yeah, I'd noticed that, too. Also, he's suffering from those NY... was it the PD or the FD? I think PD. Anyway, one of them came out and basically said he was partially responsible for dropping the ball in 9/11 clean up deaths. That couldn't have helped him any.

I know the NYFD has always hated Giuliani because he put his thumb in the eye of the union, but one of them outing his 9/11 failure is news to me.

Originally Posted by Bradylama

I know the NYFD has always hated Giuliani because he put his thumb in the eye of the union, but one of them outing his 9/11 failure is news to me.

I think it was the Union, but it may just have been a group of firefighters, so I can't speak to that with absolute certainty. But they basically said he had knowledge that a lot of the radios were old, out of date, and didn't work, and they got sent in with them anyway. Lost contact. People died, etc.

Oh man, Hillary totally fake cried for those 7000 votes she got to beat Obama.

I'm incredibly disappointed in my state. Also shocked, considering the polls as of yesterday. Bah!

Still early... Fingers are crossed for the future.

"Ahh McCain you've gone it again!"™
So has Guiliani pulled out yet or what?

For the Democrat side of things, it's good to see at least 1% of Democrats are awesome.

Giuliani's likely to stick around and see if his 700 Club endorsement is enough to give him a lead on Huckabee in the evangelical states.

Yeah but he'll probably kneel over and die before Super Tuesday.

Frankly, I'm somewhat mystified by Giuliani's acceptance of Robertson's endorsement. Giuliani hails from New York, one of the more progressive and liberal states in the union. It stands to reason that he'd eventually depend upon the large constituency from his home state. The thing is, New York - and New York City in particular - is largely comprised of the kinds of people who find Pat Robertson appalling. By accepting Robertson's endorsement, Giuliani is alienating a significant portion of his home state. If he can't be expected to carry New York, how could he expect to curry the favor of voters elsewhere? Shoring up the conservative Christian vote isn't going to save the day when the man's candidacy is built upon progressive services to one of the country's largest melting pots.

Aside from some mishandlings of the 9/11 body searches, Giuliani did quite a bit to clean up and restore prosperity to a large portion of New York City. This wasn't the work of a Christian conservative though. Robertson's endorsement is baffling.

Of course, this is somewhat moot as Giuliani has thus far made poor showings. I expect that he'll drop out after the Michigan primary and serve his endorsement to Mike Huckabee. That'll give Huckabee a vicarious endorsement from Robertson, which will please his Christian supporters without being so direct a backing as to upset his more moderate followers. Maybe this is what Robertson is counting upon?

Giuliani's acceptance of Pat Robertson's endorsement is easy enough to explain; Robertson is a major evangelical Christian leader, and they make up a large percentage of the Republican base. To capture the nomination, Giuliani would need to appeal to at least some of them, and his being a Northeastern pro-choice liberal was not something likely to endear himself to them. By being acceptable to Robertson, Giuliani becomes acceptable to them by association.

At least, that's the theory.

Robertson's endorsement is also easy to explain. When made, the easy frontrunner for the Republican nomination was John McCain, with Giuliani being McCain's biggest obstacle. Back when he was competing with George W. Bush in 2000, McCain blasted people like Robertson and Jerry Falwell as "agents of intolerance". Robertson remembered this well, and, being a powerful leader in the evangelical community scorned, decided to to what he could to get back at McCain. If this meant aligning himself with Giuliani, so be it.

Originally Posted by Arainach

I'd say the smart thing to do would be for Edwards to drop out and give his support to Obama. He's lost any hope of momentum, and I suspect he may try and push for a VP slot now.

Tonight was a blow for him, but I suspect he will hang on until South Carolina at least.

Also, there is Nevada as well. Not important in terms of delegate count but huge in terms of media coverage. One of the few remaining votes (and thus places to build momentum) left before Super Duper "this has got to be the dumbest idea ever, seriously, deciding the nominee in early February?" Tuesday.