The nation has another primary under its belt. As we all know by now, Hillary took the state with Obama in 2nd and Edwards in 3rd. On the Republican side, McCain took the state (not a big surprise there), followed by Romney and Huckabee a distant 3rd. 9ui11iani barely beat out Ron Paul for 4th, which shows just how much a tailspin his campaign is in, and how energized the Ron Paul supporters are.

McCain was called very early, not long after the polls closed. Hillary, however, wasn't called until much later. It was very close all night long, which really helped maintain the level of excitement. It gave us all a chance to watch the pundits blather and eat crow and gaze at their navels (they predicted an Obama blow out).

The concession speeches were the real show. First up was Huckabee, sans the floating head of Chuck Norris -w- teeth, giving another earnest-appearing speech to rally his base. He now has a 1st and a 3rd (same as Hillary), so he's got no reason to sweat - yet.

Edwards was next after a long introduction by Elizabeth, and a long hand-shaking walk to the stage (which seemed to irritate Keith Olbermann). He used the opportunity to once again get his message out, which I must admit could use a little updating. Yes we know your father worked in the mills, yes we know about the girl that died because of the health insurance company, yes we know about the cleft-pallette guy. Please, John, mix it up a little. Regardless, it was still inspiring and earnest, so good on him.

Romney (with what looked like the entire Mormon compound) gave a short speech. No biggie.

McCain then came on to give his winner's speech. After Huckabee and Edwards, it was a little sad. McCain was dull, dull, dull. He also kept his nose in his notes, barely looking up. Was it the weight of his chipmunk cheeks dragging his head down? The speech itself seemed like a series of disjointed talking points. The pundits were laughing, saying it sounded like every staffer wrote one line. Note to John: MEMORIZE YOUR SPEECH!

Or - you could do like Obama and use a teleprompter. As Obama was speaking, it became clear that he kept swiveling his head back and forth to the same two exact positions, and focusing his eyes on the same places. It was obvious he was reading his speech. To the casual viewer, it may have seemed like he was just looking out to the audience, but if you watched carefully, it wasn't so. Such is the magic of the transparent teleprompter. It was still an inspiring speech (and more of a positive message than Edwards), but the reading thing was distracting.

Finally, Hillary gave her winners speech. By this time, I was occupied doing other things, so I missed most of it. Even us intrepid reporters have to have a life, ya know...

So - as John Edwards put it: 99% of the country still haven't had their voices heard in this democratic process, so let's not read too much into these two early states. There are several more in the wings for January, and Super Tuesday is less than a month away!

377 days until Bush vacates the White House (and counting...)