In the End, Voters Gave in to Clinton, McCain

Jan 09, 06:46 AM

Jan. 9--MANCHESTER, N.H. -- They came home for Hillary Tuesday night.

And it was enough to stop Barack Obama's momentum, at least for the moment and possibly for good.

Women voters -- whose support for Obama helped fuel his surprising Iowa win -- were solidly back in Hillary Rodham Clinton's column last night, giving nearly half their vote in the Democratic primary here to the former first lady.

Registered Democrats, too, rallied overwhelmingly behind Clinton, who went into last night with four polls showing her with a double-digit deficit to Obama, whose message of "change" Clinton and other candidates scrambled to match.

In the end, partisan and personal loyalty to Clinton were able to swamp a wave of independent support for Obama, who pulled many independent voters into the Democratic race here on the power of his appeal to political and racial unity.

Six in 10 independent voters chose to vote in the Democratic contest, and roughly 4 in 10 of those picked Obama. But it wasn't enough to overtake a figure even many Democrats regard with a mix of admiration and skepticism -- particularly when older voters also jammed polling places to back Clinton.

Clinton's narrow win is sure to spark questions about whether voters here simply didn't tell the truth to pollsters asking whether they were supporting a white woman or an African-American man. In past races involving black candidates, the results on Election Day have been far closer or even the reverse of the pre-election polls -- perhaps an unspoken answer to the question of whether America truly is ready to elect an African-American president.

Analysts also will long debate the effect of Clinton's show of emotion here Monday, when she choked up and held back tears as she described the rigors of a presidential race. Female candidates aren't supposed to cry because it's thought to make them look soft or weak. But it's just possible that a near-tear or two might have helped melt Clinton's Ice Queen image, or gained her a little sympathy, at least.

The independent vote that failed Obama did help as Republican John McCain swept to victory over Mitt Romney, winning roughly a similar percentage of the independent vote as Obama. Romney pledged to fight on to Michigan, but his campaign is badly -- possibly fatally -- wounded. Mike Huckabee's third-place finish fuels him for an upcoming South Carolina fight. Rudy Giuliani's fourth-place finish sends him limping to Florida.

In New Hampshire, Obama and McCain had both counted on independents to turn the tide for them, as those voters who are not registered as Republicans or Democrats can choose to vote in either primary.

Turnout was high, as Democrats weary of George W. Bush and the war in Iraq flooded polling places, a sign that Democrats could put together a potent coalition of dyed-in-the-wool party loyalists and cranky middle-of-the-roaders tired of Washington partisanship, a strong combination that could propel a Democrat into the White House.

The question after last night is, which Democrat? Clinton survived a near-death experience -- and much like the idea that what doesn't kill a politician only makes him or her stronger, she is likely to come out of last night with a Lazarus-like glow, a candidate who has stared defeat in the face and can roar back to the trail renewed.

But Obama lost the expectations game here, and badly. In the five days since Iowa, New Hampshire felt like his to lose -- and when he lost it, that will make voters question whether the Iowa results were just a mirage, a Midwestern crush that didn't survive the trip east.

-----

To see more of Newsday, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsday.com

Copyright (c) 2008, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. In the End, Voters Gave in to Clinton, McCain
Back to Current Headlines