The Observation Deck

MSNBC just called the NH Primary for Clinton....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22551718/

CNN and AP also call NH for Hillary.

a close win for Hilary in her own state. What does that mean?

The number of older voters (50+ age) outnumbered the number of young voters which swayed the night in Hilary's direction.

But it's surprising that she had to cry on national tv to get her home state to choose her by a 5,000 votes. Her "message" needs change and her campaign needs a shake up.

It was entertaining to watch, it kept me on the edge of my seat all night and made me forget about my cold!

Ivor Karabatkovic wrote:a close win for Hilary in her own state. What does that mean?

The number of older voters (50+ age) outnumbered the number of young voters which swayed the night in Hilary's direction.

But it's surprising that she had to cry on national tv to get her home state to choose her by a 5,000 votes. Her "message" needs change and her campaign needs a shake up.

It was entertaining to watch, it kept me on the edge of my seat all night and made me forget about my cold!

NH is not her home state. She grew up in IL and is senator in NY. Considering the national press wrote her off for the last two days and all the polls had her losing by double digits, I think this is a pretty big win for her.

All of the press I'm reading tonight says this is a big deal for her campaign.

I think that there are still two college towns to be counted...

Stephen Eisel wrote:I think that there are still two college towns to be counted...

True, but those college towns only have 5700 registered voters (or so says MSNBC) so even if 100% voted for Obama, he still wouldn't win. But in reality those 5700 will be split up between all the candidates.

When the phrase "college towns" is uttered, the distinct make-ups of the residents and the students in each of those towns are unrecognized - particularly by the press, who seem to be more stupid than ever in their "political analysis."

Now, as Clinton delivers her speech, I am surprised that she has yet to tear up, because I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of that from now on in her campaign.

Perhaps she'll save it for the finish...

"Winning" the state is a bit of a misnomer in primaries, as it's not a winner-take-all proposition like it is in the electoral college.

Clinton and Obama will walk away from NH with the same 8 delegates each. First or second place will mean nothing in reality, but everything to the reporters and bloggers looking for a story arc.

Since states have a certain number of "super-delegates" made up of party apparatchiks who can vote however they choose, some of them have already pledged their vote for certain candidates. With these added in, here are the delegate totals so far after tonight:

Clinton: 183
Obama: 78
Edwards: 52
Richardson: 19
DENNIS!: 1

Numbers taken from this CNN page.

There are still several thousand delegates to be apportioned, so the lead isn't as great as it seems. There's no way to really get a gauge for it until after Super Tuesday.

dl meckes wrote:When the phrase "college towns" is uttered, the distinct make-ups of the residents and the students in each of those towns are unrecognized - particularly by the press, who seem to be more stupid than ever in their "political analysis."

Now, as Clinton delivers her speech, I am surprised that she has yet to tear up, because I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of that from now on in her campaign.

Perhaps she'll save it for the finish...

How about the total towns population minus the number of students