It's easy after the fact to say, "I saw it instantly!" ... but I said nothing till now ...

"Hillary, you're nice enough"

I'm writing this after the fact. This is the day after the New Hampshire primary results are in and Hillary came out of (seemingly) nowhere to beat Barack Obama 39% to 36%.

How many of you recall that moment in the ABC Debate last Saturday evening when the mood was jocular over the issue of Obama's "likability" being higher or better than Hillary's? Do you recall the relaxed and rather genuine smile on Hillary's face when she said basically that she felt "hurt" and then went on to remark that she too found Barack Obama to be very likable. Then the camera panned over to Obama who said with a depth of arrogance and sarcasm that I found shocking. He said, "Hillary, you're nice enough" with a noticeable drop in his voice as he said "enough."

At the time I thought, "I hope his female supporters didn't notice that!" I truly did! And yes, the election results yesterday bore out my (easy to say now, I know) thoughts at the time. I mentioned them only to my brother in Connecticut on the phone, but that moment marked the turn-about in Hillary's campaign, I think--together with her slight "breakdown" on Sunday, and may very well have cost Obama the nomination if YouTube or one of the major broadcasters replays that few moments of the ABC Debate.

Maybe my prediction of New Year's Day has just picked up new life ...