As soon as I got a text message from my girlfriend from New Hampshire at 12:30 yesterday with her one-word exit poll, “Hillary,” I knew I was in the doghouse.

What a night!!!

Hillary Clinton’s narrow upset over Obama in the N.H. primary and John McCain’s victory over Romney are now the third and fourth-straight underdog victories in this election. No one thought Obama could rout the Clinton machine in Iowa, that Huckabee could become a serious candidate, that McCain could bounce back after his campaign stood on the brink of extinction and - just yesterday everyone, myself included - thought Hillary was toast in N.H. So if there’s one thing that’s for sure, its that in this election season, underdogs rule.

What happened? It looks like beyond not liking having the media tell them how they were going to vote and asserting their independence, N.H. voters also saw more depth in Hillary Clinton’s message than the rest of the nation had given her credit for. Female voters in particular - whose vote she had lost in Iowa - turned out for her big-time in this state, and that may have made the difference since they make up 57% of the electorate.

Either way, her stunning victory is great news for the presidential election in general. Each upset, each reversal of expectations only makes it more exciting, more engaging and increases the chances that, for the first time (ever?) voters in bigger states that don’t vote early might be motivated to vote and feel like their votes count.

So buckle-up, folks: we’re all in for a ride to the White House like never before.

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