New Hampshire: Outsiders In

Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New Hampshire primary voters have been known to choose the presidential candidates who clearly match their independent and iconoclastic streak.  It also helps if you're from the area and look a lot like them.  This year, that description fits Republican Donald Trump of New York City and Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who won their respective primaries by overwhelming margins.

Trump's and Sanders' victories came as no surprise, so the real race was in the GOP among the also-rans.  Governor John Kasich of Ohio took second, while Iowa caucus winner Senator Ted Cruz of Texas finished third.  Florida senator Marco Rubio followed up his lousy debate performance with a fifth place showing.  Two are dropping out:  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former HP executive Carly Fiorina. 

Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State. finished a distant second to Sanders on the Democratic side, and you could hear the cracks sounding in her campaign.  She appeals to many voters because of her familiarity and governmental experience.  Many, that is, except to millenials--particularly women--who seem to prefer Sanders and his democratic socialism.

Can you blame them?  The Clintons (Bill and Hillary) have been in our lives since before these new crop of voters were even born.  All they know of Hillary are the accomplishments and scandals that have marked her (and Bill's) career.  Millenials seem to want a fresh face that speaks to them, much like Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy did for an earlier generation.  Right now that face belongs to Sanders, who's old enough to be their great-grandfather.  By comparison, the Clintons just remind them of their parents.

Some of Hillary Clinton's supporters, such as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (who served under President Bill), are of no help to the campaign when they suggest to young women that "there's a special place in hell" for them if they don't vote for Hillary as the first female President.  Last we checked, women were allowed to make up their own minds about who they want in the White House, regardless of gender.

Hillary Clinton is still considered the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination, and the next batch of primaries look good for her.  But if she doesn't get her act together, a lot more folks will be "feeling the Bern" pretty quick.

As for the GOP, the next few weeks will say plenty about Trump's staying power, Cruz' leadership ambitions, Rubio's ability to make any sense, Jeb Bush's money and connections, and Kasich's pipe dreams.  All the candidates of both parties are about to pass through God's Country--conservative states with more churches, military bases and fewer white people than in Iowa or New Hampshire.  Then we'll see if outsiders really belong inside the White House.