Reply #54: Depends on margin of victory, expectations, spin, etc...

[Hippo_Tron]

If Obama spends the days between Iowa and New Hampshire constantly repeating the phrase "Hillary has a large lead in New Hampshire for most of the campaign season and my victory is by no means a sure thing" a strong second place in New Hampshire for him will be a lot stronger than if he spends the days in between telling people that he has New Hampshire in the bag.

Obama doesn't have to win New Hampshire, but he needs to give the impression that he has surpassed expectations there in order to keep momentum in his corner. The headlines the next day need to say "Frontrunner Clinton, barely eeks out a New Hampshire win over newcomer Obama" and not "Senator Clinton wins strong victory in New Hampshire primary despite Obama's success in Iowa".