Ambivalence: Pro and Con

I have very mixed feelings about the New Hampshire results. On the one hand, it is very satisfying to see the Clinton-haters--and misogynists in general--get some kind of comeuppance. 'Iron my shirt' guy may well have won it for Clinton--and that's very heartening. Whichever of the two wins the nomination (let's face it: it won't be Edwards), we're going to see an outpouring of the vilest racism/misogyny imaginable, and it's an open question whether more Americans will reject or embrace it. In New Hampshire, they rejected it--and that's an enormous good.

And of course Deborah's point about the solid Democratic numbers is well-taken--especially for those of us old enough to remember New Hampshire as solid Republican territory.

On the other hand, I'm just not happy with the result. Part of it is that I think Obama really would be a better candidate, and a better president...but that's not a huge point for me; as I've said I'd be happy voting for any of them.

What matters more is that I just want this thing to be over. I'm sick of Democrats fighting with Democrats, with a process that focuses attention on the candidates' flaws and away from their strengths. I care less about who the nominee is than about having a nominee--any of the three, or two now--to rally behind.

And of course on the Republican side, the news is terrible: McCain is the one Republican who wouldn't be fighting an uphill battle in the general. I was hoping New Hampshire would kill his candidacy as dead as Rudy's.

Yeah, there's a long way to go...but I have a bad feeling about this.