Mitt Romney took New Hampshire, as expected. Also, he scored double over his next opponent, Ron Paul. Nevertheless, Ron Paul saw himself nibbling at the heals of Romney.
John Huntsman, who had ignored the Iowa Caucuses, came in third in New Hampshire. What's interesting is that the two Mormons did well in New Hampshire, and they're well positioned to make a run on the White House. New Hampshire has always been a big Mormon state. So it's fortunate that the first primary begins there.
On the other hand, Ron Paul didn't do so bad. It's very curious. Ron Paul comes from a Baptist background. He has served in the military during the Vietnam War as a flight surgeon. He has been in Congress for two decades. What makes him really dangerous is his disregard for the safety of Israel. He has been known to be somewhat of a bigot and anti-Semite, however. Yet the Tea Party Americans still support him. Ron Paul, more than any candidate of the Republican Party, represents the Hippie movement of the 60s. This is what's so strange about Dr. Ron Paul.
Then there are the two Catholics vying for power: Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. They are running at the back of the pack now, with the South Carolina Primary coming up. The Catholics and the Mormons seem to have made a pact to take over the Republican Party. Newt Gingrich is livid because he thought the Mormons would accede to the Catholics in this election; but that couldn't be furthest from the truth. This is the year of the Mormons; if they don't make President this time, there is no telling how long it will be before one of them occupies the White House.
The Mormons have another thing on their side: they are patriotic Americans. Regardless of everything else, Mitt Romney and John Huntsman will safeguard the United States of America. For me, the biggest benefit of a Romney Presidency will be the return of Christianity as the dominant religion in America.
What's really sad is that Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have been marginalized by the stampede of the exotic Republicans. Michele was so discouraged by her native state that she withdrew from the race entirely. Rick Perry reconsidered his bid and re-entered the race, hoping to do well in South Carolina, the first primary state where there are a lot of Evangelical votes.
What remains to be seen in the next three primaries is the extent to which Rick Santorum can surge. I don't think Newt Gingrich will be able to connect with the new voters of America.
What the New Hampshire Primary did expose is the way the Republican Party is fractured. It used to be the Democrats who combined many parties and splinter groups and absorbed all political persuasions; but now it's the Democrats who have coalesced into a homogeneous atheistic party that possesses a dynamic ideology. The Democrats in New Hampshire have had their day in the sun, now it's time for the rest of the nation to speak out and cast their ballots.
Obama is waiting for the Republican field to winnow itself out. Then he will attack and decimate them. Obama is a loose canon; he doesn't represent any party anymore. He sees himself as the only arbiter of where America is headed. The Republican candidates better start respecting how formidable Obama is, because they're about to be sifted like the sands of the Sahara.
Jan. 10, 2012