Contributed by Brian Krenz on 01/10/07

What this week’s Democratic New Hampshire primary taught us, above all else, is that no one—not supporters, not opponents, not pundits, not writers—can (nor should) crown the next president so early in what is sure to be the hardest fought election in decades. But it also taught us something else. It taught us about resiliency, and it reminded us how important this campaign is.

No one thought that Hillary Clinton would be able to mount a comeback when she was down by an average of about eight points in the polls to Barack Obama. Yet now she may be the one Clinton who can truly claim to be a “comeback-kid” after winning in a stunning upset in New Hampshire. Hillary showed the fortitude to turn an election that many considered over into a fierce battle once again. The voters in New Hampshire, and particularly the women voters, showed that they are willing to fight not just for Hillary, but for a more protracted, more serious, and ultimately more meaningful campaign than anyone had expected.

But Hillary wasn’t the only presidential hopeful who displayed such resiliency. Barack Obama did as well. In his speech Tuesday night in which he congratulated Clinton on her victory, Obama showed what has made his campaign so successful to this point. He gave an eloquent speech—ripe with the hope and optimism he is known for (actually, he gave us one of the best quotes I’ve ever heard—“We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope, but in the unlikely story that is America, there’s nothing false about hope.”). In the face of defeat, and a difficult one at that, he was still able to engender passion and anticipation; he was still able to rally his troops. And oh were they rallied. The fervid enthusiasm emanating from the crowd behind Obama was a sight to behold—not because we have never seen such excitement from his campaign (because we have), but because that excitement did not waver after an unexpected loss. Watching the fever-pitch exhilaration of that crowd, you would have had to assume that Obama had just won another decisive victory. But he didn’t, he lost. Some people can only lead when the sun is shining. Others, those who can truly inspire, can lead when the storm is raging. That level of enthusiasm Obama’s crowd had after watching their man lose made evident which kind of leader he is.

Of course enthusiasm alone won’t get you elected. There is another element all successful campaigns have—organization. And once again, Obama’s supporters showed that they are “fired up, ready to go,” to borrow the rallying cry of young people in the candidate’s campaign. His raucous supporters worship the ground he walks on; they are ready to fight for him. They would, as is so often true with great leaders, follow him to the ends of the earth and beyond. They believe in his message, they believe he can win, and they will do everything in their power to make sure that’s what happens. And watching his speech, I can’t help but think that they might really be able to do it. The unity of that crowd was unparalleled. Whereas Hillary’s crowd cheers, Obama’s crowd chants. O-bam-a, O-bam-a! Yes we can, Yes we can! It’s energy plus organization. And it is a combination that will make Barack Obama very difficult to defeat.

Many people will say I’m reading too much into this—after all, Obama did lose in New Hampshire. It’s true that it would be a mistake to once again prematurely name Obama the victor of the campaign. But with a media so ready to latch on to whatever narrative happens to be hot at the moment, the bigger mistake would be assuming that Hillary doesn’t have a difficult battle ahead. Nor that Barack doesn’t. Hillary’s campaign repeatedly echoed that this election was a marathon, and, it turns out, they were right. A candidate with as much establishment support as Hillary is formidable, just as a candidate with as much excitement surrounding him as Obama is as well.

Far from being over, this election is just beginning. In the coming the weeks, both candidates are likely to pick up victories, and as those weeks turn into days, days into hours, the importance of the February 5th onslaught of primaries will continue to increase. We will likely not know the Democratic nominee until then—maybe not even then. But, with an election this important, with so much at stake here and abroad, with such a need to change from the politics of cynicism and fear that have typified the Bush administration, this has to be a good thing. What New Hampshire gave us is a chance to look deeper at our nation and decide, decisively, what kind of nation we want to be going forward. New Hampshire rejected the easy narrative in favor of what will now be a hard-fought campaign. And they were right to do so. With a disastrous war, an ailing economy, the losing fight against global warming, and the division within America and between America and the rest of the world, it is not hard to see why this is the most important election in decades. Contests of this magnitude should be hard-fought, and New Hampshire made sure that was the case. The marathon has begun.

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