Aftermath

And now they're gone.

Hillary Clinton's "unexpected" win in New Hampshire will keep the news media talking for a week, either about how she managed to pull it off or, in a few quiet voices, about how they managed to get it so wrong.  The media ever likes a good story, of course.  It would be boring if the front runner remained the front runner the whole way through.  Also, some media outlets, like Fox News, hate Clinton so bad they'll make stuff up, like their obviously imagined "exit polls" which gave Obama a healthy 13 point lead.  As my friend Mike Pride says, the only thing that really counts, in the end, are the votes. 

The reality of the ballot always takes us by surprise somewhat.  We still vote with paper and pencil here in Washington.  The format isn't confusing but sometimes you have to slow down and read the thing because, contrary to popular media belief, there are many more candidates on the ballot than just the top moneyed four.  There were, in fact, a whopping 21.

I didn't see the Republican ballot first hand but apparently their's had the same number.  We were watching the painfully slow results come in last night and noticed that a man named Vermin Supreme had slipped his way onto the ballot, garnering 36 votes.  

It takes all kinds of voters in New Hampshire.   

tags: political