Did you all hear the wooshing sound that occurred sometime between last night after the polls closed and this morning? 

That was the sound of the bitter end of the New Hampshire Primary. 

Hooray.  We made it!

I learned a lot about my home state this week.  I learned that we vote more when it's warm (a relative term, according to reporters from certain tropical locations).  It seems New Hampshire voters turn out in large numbers when the roads aren't treacherous.

I learned that we don't really seem to know who to vote for anymore.  The past several Primaries have yielded something like 'the lesser of two evils'. 

I learned that exit polls are far more accurate than whatever they call the polls they attempt to do before the Primary.

I learned that a "Huckaburger" is made with Bison meat, at least at the Barley House in Concord.  Look for that in the new Webster's dictionary for 2008. 

I learned that the expression "Mac is Back" doesn't refer to an item on a McDonald's menu and happens to be really, really annoying when chanted by several hundred supporters in a gymnasium or wherever the heck they held the Victory Rally party for John McCain.

I learned that Hillary Clinton can cry, and by doing so, she can pull off a win despite the pre-Primary media blitz declaring Barack Obama the winner.

I learned that Rudy Giuliani, despite his great leadership abilities Post 9-11, doesn't seem to know how to connect to New Hampshire voters.  Could it be because he's a Yankees fan?

I learned that New Hampshire has a deep and abiding respect for war heroes.

I learned that everything Mitt Romney touches doesn't turn to gold, though he's been picking up some silver here and there.  I am pretty sure he needs a Golden Ticket to gain entry into Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and/or the White House.   

I even learned that the New Hampshire Primary may no longer be relevant.  I don't want to believe it.  Heck, I grew up proudly anticipating the attention our state received every four years and the possibility of shaking hands with our next President on my lunch break. 

Now that the air has been let out of the balloon, it all seems so anticlimactic.  We couldn't even pick a clear front-runner in either party. 

Have we lost our touch or have the politicians lost theirs?