It's Hillary and Rudy against the world, strategery-wise. A subdued Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's top strategist, was surrounded by reporters on the red-eye flight from Des Moines to Manchester last night who wanted to know if a Clinton win in New Hampshire was essential to her viability after yesterday's Iowa whooping.
Penn wouldn't say yes. (Money man Terry McAuliffe differed, predicting a win)
"I think the critical day is Feb. 5," he said, echoing Giuliani's strategy of accepting losses in the small, early primary states like New Hampshire. Not exactly an expression of confidence in the campaign's ability to turn the Obama tide here by next Tuesday.
The pollster, clearly exhausted but characteristically obliging, said he was studying the reasons for Obama's jaw-dropping 35-to-30 percent edge among Iowa women -- but opined that it was just younger women swept up in Obama's young-voter tidal wave. He said that NH women were "different" than their Hawkeye State sisters but didn't elaborate.
As he spoke, Madeline Albright curled up in her leather seat, scrunched up her coat and commenced blissful snoozing.
-- Glenn Thrush in Nashua