Hillary Clinton and John McCain were being counted as down and out -- Clinton just a few days ago; McCain all summer and fall. Then they up and win the New Hampshire primary -- Clinton by 2% over Barack Obama; McCain by 5% over Mitt Romney. What makes this even more interesting is that polls leading up to election time had Obama as much as 10% ahead of Clinton.

For the Democrats, this means a political dogfight. And if John Edwards wins South Carolina at the end of the month (he won the state primary in 2004; Edwards was born in South Carolina), it could become a three-way dogfight. For political junkies, this is almost too much.

On the Repbublican side of things, former Governor Mitt Romney has outspent his opponents by untold millions, but a grassroots minister defeated him in Iowa and a nearly bankrupt aging Arizona senator beat him in New Hampshire. Although Romney has plenty of his own money to run on, these defeats have to be demoralizing for his campaign and his presidential prospects. However, it breathes new life into the almost-dead McCain campaign machine. And with Huckabee coming in a relatively decent third (11% of the vote), the Republicans are set for a knockdown-dragout as well.

And let us not forget ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who barely campaigned in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Giuliani camp has set its sights on the "big picture," deciding to spend its time in major states like Michigan and Florida. The Republican National Convention could be the one to watch this year, especially with four major players involved (and perhaps a couple more if Ron Paul and Fred Thompson pull a few surprises).

Far better this free-for-all than the three or four candidates the media was predicting at the end of the New Hampshire Primary. Far better that more people get the chance to decide on the parties nominees than have it be decided by two small states at the beginning of the process.