This was important because many Democrats who said they would vote for Obama didn't.

New Hampshire's importance as a primary state has steadily declined with each election, but boy are they and the media slow to give up on the notion.

Once a win here was a massive momentum builder and signalled a power in the primaries.  Now, while its far from irrelevant, given the timing, it is much diminished.

In retrospect, Clinton's win in New Hampshire cannot be seen as critical.  It temporarily blunted (but only slightly) the impact of Obama's win in Iowa, but did little to build momentum for her.

Not such a big deal in the broader scheme of things. So few delegates were at stake in NH, and the margin of victory was very narrow, so she couldn't even take away a moral victory from Obama. Hillary's victory here was an early demonstration of Obama's weakness among white blue collar workers and white women. He is catching up though. Obama is clearly favored to win the nomination; Hillary is just going through the motions, but she's done.

All I can say is thank god there is only another 10 months left  in the election campaign.  It's getting really tiresome already.  Hours and hours of news coverage about next to nothing of substance in terms of the real issues of the day.  Did Hillary cry, or did her voice just quaver?  Was it a tactic or was it genuine?  Will it define her political career for the next generation?  Does this matter to someone who is worried about getting kicked out of their sub-prime mortgaged house or who has lost a son in a meaningless war?

This is significant enough to remind the public that its a two person race for the Democratic nomination. We have also learned that the Democrats will be selecting a candidate who does not fit the traditional "white-male-Christian" profile...Sorry John Edwards.

This is big. It is a reversion to the usual Democratic Party politics as usual and is the beginning of the end for the Obama movement.

Aha, so its not as over as the Obama people would have us believe. That oughta knock the smile off of that salesman's face. To think a year ago I would have taken Satan over Hillary and now I'd take her over Obama or Edwards. Mind you she's still screwed for my vote if McCain goes the distance for the GOP...

This is shaping up to be a battle.  Both Hillary and Obama are historic candidates, and both are far stronger (Clinton) and far more charismatic (Obama) than Kerry was in 2004.  Hillary pulled New Hampshire out despite trailing Obama in most polls by 10 points.  If Obama had swept Iowa and New Hampshire, he would have been the odds on favorite.  Now it's anybody's ballgame.