Did emotion help Hillary win in New Hampshire?

Clinton scores surprise victory over Obama; McCain comes back to win
By Robert Schroeder & Russ Britt, MarketWatch

Maybe a little show of emotion helped Hillary Clinton after all.

A day after Clinton appeared at a New Hampshire event, her voice cracking with emotion as it appeared she might suffer a double-digit loss to Barack Obama in the state's primary, the former First Lady ended up with a surprise win in the Granite State, narrowly beating her chief rival for the Democratic nomination.

On the verge of tears, Clinton had said at the event on Monday that she took this year's presidential elections personally and said the stakes were high at this point in history. On Tuesday night, that personal theme made another appearance when Clinton gave her victory speech.

"Over the last week, I listened to you," Clinton said as she thanked New Hampshire voters. "And in the process, I found my own voice."

"Let's give America the kind of comeback that New Hampshire has just given me," Clinton later said.

Clinton's surprising victory came just hours after pollsters forecast she would lose to Obama by more than 10 percentage points in the nation's first primary. Political pundits were wondering whether Clinton's chances at the nomination were doomed, but many felt her well-funded effort would continue through the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" event in which 20 states would hold primaries and caucuses.

Those same pundits scratched their heads on Wednesday after discovering that an apparent late surge of independent voters helped vault Clinton past Obama as she captured 39% of the vote to his 36%. Polls had given Obama a double-digit lead over Clinton after he had scored a victory over her and former Sen. John Edwards in Iowa caucuses just days before.

Some speculated it may well have been Clinton's show of emotion that helped contributed to that late surge.

"I think that was just a defining moment," said Peter Fenn, a Democratic strategist. "It wasn't phony. She was very genuine."

Along with Clinton, Republican John McCain scored a dramatic victory in New Hampshire, but his victory was predicted as polls showed him ahead. McCain, the Arizona senator who just a few months ago was generally thought to be a non-contender, proved his resiliency and beat out ex-Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, 37% to 32%. Former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee trailed with 11%.

"Tonight we sure showed 'em what a comeback looks like," McCain told supporters in Nashua, N.H.

Granite State voters turned out in record numbers in a contest that was widely seen as a defining test for political veteran Clinton. Edwards came in third in the Democratic race with 17%.

Obama vowed to fight on Tuesday night despite losing to Clinton.
"I am still fired up and ready to go," he told a cheering crowd. "The battle ahead will be long."

"We are ready to take this country in a fundamentally new direction," Obama said.
Key victory for Clinton
Clinton's victory in New Hampshire Tuesday night saved her from a humiliating and widely predicted defeat at the hands of Obama. Her campaign was reeling right up to the first-in-the-nation primary, and analysts said a win by Obama would have sped up the selection of the Democrat's nominee.
Now it looks like the nomination battle in both parties will go on, at least through Feb. 5.

Clinton has "substantial resources, an organization spread across the country and considerable strength in states like California," said Andrew Polsky, a political science professor at Hunter College. Andrews. Plus, she could pull in strong showings in Super Tuesday states like New York and New Jersey on Feb. 5, Polsky said.

In the immediate reaction after the surprising Clinton win, political analysts said there were already signs that Clinton had learned some tough lessons from the past week and was quickly adjusting her campaign style. They noted that former President Bill Clinton was not by her side when she gave her New Hampshire victory speech, that there were more young people surrounding her, and that she called for a change and a new direction.