So, what happened? A late break for Hillary that polls couldn't detect? Did the pollsters have the bad luck of stumbling on a group of liar-respondents? Theories abound: Her choke-up moment humanized her. Coupled with her debate performance, women were inspired to show their support. Bill's late appearance/Obama attack suppressed Barack fever. New Hampshire voters thumbed their noses at the media's coronation of Obama. Independents voted for McCain believing Obama had it sewn up. Obama supporters stayed home believing their man didn't need their vote to win. What are your pet theories?(Did anyone hear Tom Brokaw excoriate the press for their reliance on polling on MSNBC? Even left Chris Matthews speechless. Not an easy thing to do.)

Grant Gallicho joined Commonweal as an intern and was an associate editor for the magazine until 2015. 

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