The People Are Still In Charge

Was it just a week ago that I was saying New Hampshire is a nice state where odd things happen?

Wish I had remembered that the next day on the eve of the primary when I reported that late polls indicated it was going to be close between Bush and McCain and a runaway for Gore.

If you just got here from Mars, that last part turned out to be exactly backwards.

Once again, New Hampshire voters reminded us once that when it comes to forecasting the experts are better at backcasting.

Not so good for the experts, not all bad for the country.

The great thing about American politics is that just when you've got it all figured out, something happens to show us we didn't get it quite right.

And that's the great strength of our system. As long as we can never know for certain what's going to happen, it means the people are still running things.

When I was a young reporter, I was taught that anyone who had a nickel to buy a newspaper was entitled to be an expert on newspapers -- at least for a day.

I've always felt there was a parallel in politics. Anyone who takes the time to vote can rightly claim some expertise on the subject.

So all the experts weren't wrong about New Hampshire. Just some of us.

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