The New Hampshire primary has come and gone, that vaunted, first-in-the-nation exercise of direct democracy where anything can happen, anyone can run, and an upset victory can change the entire field of candidates. It is the quadrennial event that gives life to the notion that, in America, anybody can grow up to be president.
No, really, they think that. Check this out: Why New Hampshire is First 10.12.11.
So what happened? Well, Mitt Romney pretty much smoked the competition, winning nearly 40 percent of the vote. As we all knew he would.
Nevada was supposed to have its caucus this Saturday, a quick chance for candidates to at least try to stop his relentless march to the nomination. But no. Our state moved its caucus to Feb. 4, after a standoff with New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner. See, Gardner insisted on not only having the first primary in the nation, but also on seven uninterrupted days of political silence thereafter.
So, today we begin the Seven Holy Days of Reflection. What can the voters of the rest of the nation learn from these results? What profound lessons and wisdom can we glean? What are those oracles of the nation telling us? What does it all mean?
For today, meditate on this: Voters in New Hampshire apparently don’t like Jon Huntsman that much.
Consider: The former Utah governor spent so much time in New Hampshire, he’s practically a resident. When the dispute with Nevada arose, he was the first to agree to boycott Nevada’s caucuses because of the affront to New Hampshire’s electoral dignity. In short, he smooched a lot of New Hampshire ass.
In the end, what did it get him? Third place, with 16.9 percent, just 41,537 actual votes. Romney, by contrast, took nearly 100,000 votes. And Texas Congressman Ron Paul came in second with 22.8 percent!
So, New Hampshire, despite all the love Huntsman showed over the past year, pretty much told him to suck it.
Thus endth the lesson for the first holy day of reflection. Go forth and, um, contemplate that or something.
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Romney/Paul ticket? That would grab some of the conservative Republican voters….
That would be something, but I just can’t see Paul agreeing to serve in a Romney administration, when Romney wouldn’t be for any of the things that Paul wants, like bringing troops home, closing foreign bases, getting rid of the Fed, changing monetary policy, etc.
Me too, but Ron Paul is serving in a body that won’t do any of those things either and he is getting long in the tooth.
There is hope that he could have some influence as VP. Supposedly Joe the mouth has significant influence in Ø’s White House. After every meeting Biden and Øbama are the last to talk and behind closed doors, if memory serves.