New Hampshire

New Hampshire's primary results are in. I predicted John Kerry and John Edwards in a 1 - 2 finish. I stand corrected. Kerry finished first with a very strong 39%. Howard Dean placed second with 26%. Wesley Clark and Edwards finished third and fourth, well off the pace. The results augur continued momentum for Kerry going into multi-state contests on February 3 and 7. Second place and 26% of the vote is an enormous disappointment for Dean after spending so much money and time in New Hampshire. The same can be said of Clark's campaign, which skipped the Iowa caucuses to prepare for New Hampshire. I am convinced that Dean and Clark will be sidelined by February 7. In Dean's case, he will not overcome his Iowa stumble, but will command sufficient numbers of delegates to influence the Democrat convention. In Clark's case, the more exposure people have to him, the less likeable he is. In the meantime, Edwards has little margin for error if he is to remain a stalking horse. All signs point toward a Kerry nomination, but it remains for him to survive the sort of front runner scrutiny that brought down Howard Dean.