New Hampshire results are in

I was visiting my parents until midnight Tuesday, and didn't have a chance to check the web after I came home. This morning, I was surprised to see the results of the New Hampshire primary. On the Dem side, it was a close race between Hillary (39 percent) and Obama (36 percent), with Edwards sucking hind tit at 17 percent. The media jabbering since the Iowa caucus was that Obama might drive the nail into Hillary's coffin with a New Hampshire win. Looks like a lot of wishful thinking at this point.

On the Repub side, McCain got the win that had been predicted (37 pct), with Mormon Mitt taking second place (31) and recent media sensation Hucklebuck trailing at 11 percent. The Lovely Rudi was a non-factor at 9 percent, and Ferd brought up the rear with 1 percent. Ferd says he'll "draw the line in the sand" in South Carolina, hinting that if he gets wiped out there, he'll head back to his recliner and be satisfied to have the trophy wife bring him an occasional cold beer.

McCain's New Hampshire primary win in 2000 was one of that year's highlights for me. McCain attracted a lot of independent voters that year, because his own image was that of an independent (despite that R in his title). In primaries where independents were excluded and only Rs could vote, he didn't do so well.

Since the official position of the blog is that the Repub nominee in 2008 will be the next prez in 2009, I'm basically ignoring the Dems and concentrating on which of the Repubs turns my stomach the least. Here's what I'm hoping: Deep down in his heart, McCain really wants to be The Prez. After the 2000 defeat, he decided he would do whatever he had to do to win the hearts and minds of the lunatic fringe that vote in GOP primaries. His sickening ass-kissing and virtually constant suckitude of the last 6 years has been McCain doing whatever it took to make up with the dimwit class in his party. He'll keep it up through the primary season, long enough to secure the nomination. In the general election, he'll start inching back toward the middle of the road to lock up the Indie votes he needs to body-slam Hillary or Obama or whichever loser emerges on the Dem ticket.

At his age, McCain would probably be satisfied with a single term. His health aint all that good to begin with, and he'd probably be a "one and done." This would give McCain the latitude to return to the good old days when he was "the maverick" riding "the Straight-Talk Express." That was the McCain I admired, and if he could recapture those days, I could probably live through his four years with minimal discomfort. It's probably too much to hope for, but that's where my thinking is this chilly morning.