Peter, Dartmouth College and Hanover did indeed go for Barack:
Obama 2,779
Clinton 1,248
But it looks as if the Obamessiah isn’t going to be able to close the gap even if every upcountry mountain man turns out to have cast his vote for him. Talking with “independents” and others in the last couple of hours, I think Rich’s theory has a lot to commend it. In competitive years, NH indies want to go where the action is, which means where they can make the most difference. So the more the network guys told them Obama was heading for a coronation, the fewer indies had any interest in being part of it.
Of course, if you’re really of a conspiratorial bent, the media did a week of fawning before Barack in order to drive contrarian Granite Staters back to McCain and thereby rescue Hillary. The Clintons are clever like that.