George Bush, thank you.
In the 2000 Democratic primary, there were 151,782 ballots cast. (Of course, the Republicans had a primary as well, so independents had two contested events to choose from.)
The pundits were expecting 180,000 to participate in the Democratic primary yesterday. In fact, there were 213,677 ballots cast for the major candidates, including 112 votes for George Bush. 85% of the voters suggested that defeating Bush was a major concern; many of these voters were independents.
In the Republican primary, 85% voted for George Bush. There were 4479 votes (7.2% of the total) cast in the Republican primary for the Democratic candidates. These were all write ins.
Independents turned out in huge numbers for the Democrats and even a significant number of Republicans voted to repudiate George Bush. These numbers should scare the living shit out of Karl Rove.
And remember, NH is a conservative Republican state. The state's only major newspaper is and always has been a house organ for the extreme right.