Don't Touch That Dial!
Tonight, the nation waits breathlessly for the result. Who will prevail in the all-important first-in-the-nation (never mind about Iowa). Who will it be? Who will it be?
OK, it's Mitt Romney. I suppose there was never any doubt about that. Mitt has a little $10 million cabin in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. (And a $12 million oceanfront home in La Jolla, California. And a $5 million home in Belmont, Massachusetts. But I digress.) He's been campaigning in New Hampshire for the past five years. Everybody in New Hampshire knows his name.
The one-term governor of Massachusetts is making his victory speech as I type this. The pundits are already talking about the Romney juggernaut. It's time for Jon Huntsman to drop out, they're saying. After all, he only came in third.
There's just one teeny tiny problem. The Iowa caucus delegates are soft. They could go to anyone. But let's assume he gets them all. New Hampshire is a winner-take-all state, so Romney has added exactly 12 delegates tonight. He still has less than one percent of the delegates he needs to get the nomination at the Republican National Convention.
And there's another teeny tiny problem. By all rights, given Romney's near-favorite-son status, he should have blown the doors off the other candidates. Everyone knows Mitt, and over 60 percent of the state's Republicans chose someone else.
The big problem, however, is this: the race has just begun, but coverage of the New Hampshire Primary on Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and Current has been wall-to-wall. You'd think they were covering the invasion of Normandy rather than a contest for 12 delegates out of the 1,144 the successful candidate will need.
There's a reason. It helps generate excitement, which helps the candidates raise money. And where do they spend that money? Television ads! Millions and millions of dollars-worth of television ads.
We'll be right back after this important message.
OK, it's Mitt Romney. I suppose there was never any doubt about that. Mitt has a little $10 million cabin in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. (And a $12 million oceanfront home in La Jolla, California. And a $5 million home in Belmont, Massachusetts. But I digress.) He's been campaigning in New Hampshire for the past five years. Everybody in New Hampshire knows his name.
The one-term governor of Massachusetts is making his victory speech as I type this. The pundits are already talking about the Romney juggernaut. It's time for Jon Huntsman to drop out, they're saying. After all, he only came in third.
There's just one teeny tiny problem. The Iowa caucus delegates are soft. They could go to anyone. But let's assume he gets them all. New Hampshire is a winner-take-all state, so Romney has added exactly 12 delegates tonight. He still has less than one percent of the delegates he needs to get the nomination at the Republican National Convention.
And there's another teeny tiny problem. By all rights, given Romney's near-favorite-son status, he should have blown the doors off the other candidates. Everyone knows Mitt, and over 60 percent of the state's Republicans chose someone else.
The big problem, however, is this: the race has just begun, but coverage of the New Hampshire Primary on Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and Current has been wall-to-wall. You'd think they were covering the invasion of Normandy rather than a contest for 12 delegates out of the 1,144 the successful candidate will need.
There's a reason. It helps generate excitement, which helps the candidates raise money. And where do they spend that money? Television ads! Millions and millions of dollars-worth of television ads.
We'll be right back after this important message.