Tim Blair

better yet - the 24 write-in votes for Clinton (Bill or Hillary????)

But did anyone vote for the Bennifer?

Get Dean's paramedics on standby.

You know, for as many loudmouthed useful idiots as LaRouche seems to be able to command, you'd think that he'd get more than 60 votes...

Clark at only 13%?!?! WTF? Don't those puritanical New Englanders dig what Madonna said?

It's about her as a mother and the future of her children!!!

bennifer '04!

Saddam is thinking, "What a bunch of losers, I got 100%."

FUCKIN' A RIGHT I GOT 25 PERCENT!!!!!! SOMEBODY STOP MEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sharpton is now up to 342 in the Dem primary ... plus 9 votes as a write-in candidate in the GOP primary.

BTW - almost 9% of voters in the GOP primary gave a write-in vote for a Dem candidate. Does anyone know if this is normal wacky NH behaviour?

Well, Steyn said it was gonna be:

1) Senator John Kerry 29 per cent
2) Governor Howard Dean 28 per cent
3) Senator John Edwards 19 per cent
4) Senator Joe Lieberman 12 per cent
5) General Wesley Clark 10 per cent
6) Everybody else 2 per cent

So, Kerry over-performed by 10%, Dean overperformed by 3%, Edwards overperformed by 7%, Clark and Lieberman had shockers and underperformed by 3% each.

What's Kerry's attraction at the moment? I don't get it.

Sorry, I'm illiterate. That should be Edwards who had the shocker - underperformed by 7%

Either a "surge" for Al Sharpie, or an embarrasment for Dick:
Kucinich (Dem) 3015 2%
Gephardt (Dem) 388 0%
Sharpton (Dem) 342 0%

Congrats to the Guardian for printing an opinion column by some clown predicting a 15% vote for Sharpton. Way to go guys...

"Either a "surge" for Al Sharpie, or an embarrasment for Dick:
Kucinich (Dem) 3015 2%
Gephardt (Dem) 388 0%
Sharpton (Dem) 342 0%"

Well, Dick is officially out of the race, so his showing is hardly surprising...

Sharpton got the Federal Reserve vote.

It doesn't look good for Lieberman. I'd hoped he'd be one of the two front-runners.

Nah, most of Sharpton's votes are simply the Don King look-a-like vote (i.e., they meant to vote for Don King, the boxing promoter, who is also not in the race).

Mork:
"BTW - almost 9% of voters in the GOP primary gave a write-in vote for a Dem candidate. Does anyone know if this is normal wacky NH behaviour?"

It's normal behavior. It isn't perceived as wacky because people in NH consider it just being independent and doing what they, 'damn well feel like doing'. They take pride in being this way.

To question this sort of behavior is what, to many of them, would be considered strange. If there could be a picture of the 'stubborn, individualistic Yankee' in an encyclopedia it would show a picture of someone from NH.

Driving home tonight one of the people who participated in the write-in phoned into a talk show I was listening to. He said the write in was a protest against Bush. Trying to send a message to Bush that many Republicans are NOT pleased at all with some of Bush's policies. They want Bush to 'get the message' so Bush will stop doing what these Republicans dislike. US Deficit, jobs, immigration policy, and taxes were mentioned by the caller.

I'm surprised at Dean's strong showing. Have lots of co-workers, friends, and relatives who live in NH. They all indicated Dean was a raving lunatic who they'd never support and they didn't know anyone who would.

Hey now, no laughing, Sharpton probably got 90% of the democratic black vote in NH sewn up right there.

Hey, Dave Barry was right! He *did* finish within 2% of Kuchinich and Sharpton! :D

Thanks Chris - though having done a little more digging, I'm not sure you're 100% correct that this level of "protest vote" is typical.

Bush ended with 85.5% of the vote in an uncontested primary. By way of comparison, Bill Clinton on 95% of the NH primary in 1996 (the last time a sitting president ran unopposed).

I wonder if the level of dissent (combined with the massive Dem turnout) is a warning bell for Bush.

Mork:

I didn't mean the level of protest vote was typical. I was commenting upon the behavior/mind-set of people in NH. Very independent. One example of that was a write in on the Republican ticket for a Dem. candidate.

People in NH would not find any sort of protest, ballot or otherwise, unusual. It's quite possible if there was a country-wide movement urging ballot protests, NH voters may have opted out and done something else.

They dislike being viewed as following trends. Goes against the grain of being independent. They like to decide what to do and dislike feeling that others decided it for them.

The independent thinking takes many forms in NH.

If I were Bush I'd be concerned. Not just because of NH, but if you read some of the conservative columnists, or listen to some of the talk shows .. there is a growing discontent among the Republican base with how Bush is handling immigration and spending.

Some of the conservative talk show hosts have been going nuts over what Bush has proposed with regards to 'guest' Mexican workers. (IMHO blowing things way out of proportion.) Pres. Bush has never been a favorite of many of the right of center Republicans and this is starting to be more evident.