Here’s my insta-theory on Clinton’s victory. New Hampshire voters were supposed to reject her because they can see through a phony and she’s a phony. But New Hampshire voters are also very well informed on policy.
(Sorry, Michigan, it’s true.) There is no question they gave Obama a serious listen. And compared to Clinton, they found him lacking substance. (I heard exactly this on Monday night from voter after voter leaving Clinton’s Manchester rally — all of them saying she’d won them over that night.) Clinton ran on policy proposals — not always super-specific — but her stump speeches were more detailed than those of Obama, who offered inspiration but little else. Democrats heard Obama and said, “Where’s the beef?” And Clinton was standing there with a big ole rump steak tied around her neck.