Experience Trumps
For the past days the buzzword has been “change.” So pervasive was the progressive message coming out of Iowa, that the Republican dialogue in New Hampshire, too, was affected by the term.
But it was not the so-called mavericks or outsiders who seem to have triumphed in New Hampshire tonight. John McCain, the 71-year old winner of the 2000 New Hampshire primary, has won again in 2008. Hillary Clinton, a prominent political symbol of the 1990s, has scraped by her Democratic opponents and won a majority of primary votes in the important primary state.
As late as this afternoon, it seemed the pundits had called the race. David Brooks’ column this morning featured the two options for the coveted Independent voters in New Hampshire: Obama and McCain. The polls were projecting Obama would win in double-digits; Clinton won by three (at time of this writing).
In Iowa, “change won.” In New Hampshire, it was experience.
Ed. note: It’s too bad that the “experienced” candidates didn’t seem to have had more experience reviewing their speeches before accepting their victories ; both Clinton and McCain were married to their notes. They might consider adopting some of Barack Obama’s eloquence.