The New Hampshire Primary 2008

Hillary Clinton “The Comeback Gal”

Last night was history in the making. Although it is fair to say that John McCain was a shoe-in candidate mainly because he had won New Hampshire almost four years ago, Hillary Clinton’s victory came as a huge surprise and arguably a huge upset for the Obama camp. According to CBS and the Associated Press, this win “resurrected her bid for the White House.” They described Senator McCain’s win as “powering past his Representative rivals and back into contention for the GOP nomination.”

After reading the news, it was reported that 300 precincts in our of 301, McCain was able to get a lion’s share of the caucus votes– 37 % (88,447) over Mitt Romney’s 31% (76,202 votes). On the Democratic side, Senator Clinton beat out her opponents with a 39% win (112,238) over Obama’s 37% (104,757). The exit polls showed 30% white males that voted for her, 50% non white females, 39% of baby boomers, 37% ages 26-29; 48% were 65 and older. Household incomes ranged from 50,000+ (35%) to less than $50,000 (47%); showing that she attracted many younger voters, low-income, low educated, and blue collar workers.

The Double-Header Debate

I watched the double-header debate last Saturday and listened to both sides of the aisle -Republican and Democrats alike. While everyone seemed to believe that they have the panacea for America’s ailments and the ultimate plan to set everything aright, the lone woman on the panel intrigued me the most; not because she was once the First Lady of the country (1993-2001), not because she is very popular and visible, but because she was the most quintessential advocate in the group. She has defied all the odds, both personal and public, and is holding her own. Despite the polls and popular opinion, she forges ahead while showing compassion, vulnerability, and confidence. She didn’t even mind letting millions watching know that her feelings were hurt when the comment was made that she was less likable than Senator Obama. She is who she is. She is obviously running on her own merits, not Bill’s past presidency, because she is a highly qualified, experienced, and intelligent woman who would make a strong leader.

The Come-Back Win

To echo the words of Helen Reddy’s song written years ago, Hillary Clinton can easily use these words in her next debate and put all of her gainsayers to shame: “I am woman, hear me roar/in numbers too big to ignore/And I know too much to go back and pretend/ “cause I”ve heard it all before/and I’ve been down there on the floor/No one’s ever gonna keep me down again.” Hillary Clinton is truly a come-back kinda gal!