Though in the same, eastern time zone as PA, OH and FL, New Hampshire is the easternmost battleground state, and one Gore lost by just 7,211 votes. Things look much better on Judgment Day 2004, however.
Don't take my word for it: Here's Prof. Dante Scala of St. Anselm's college -- the man who literally wrote the book on the New Hampshire primary -- with the early line.
Meanwhile, here are the two closing sentences from Bush's election day email to his list of supporters:
Four years ago, I made a pledge that if you elected me President, I would uphold the honor and dignity of this office. With your help, today will be the beginning of four more years.
It's a strange and strangely ambiguous statement; though surely written by a staffer at BC04 headquarters in Northern Virginia, it's eerily typical of Bush's veiled language in real life. (Like when he points out that he received an honorable discharge, which implies that he served honorably without actually stating: I served honorably.) Yes, he did pledge to uphold the honor and dignity of the presidency four years ago. And yes, today will be the beginning of four more years...of something. He can't even bring himself to say he succeeded in upholding the honor and dignity of the office, or what those next four years might look like.
All in all, a fitting, final moment of truth from Bush that summarizes who he is and what he has (or rather, has not) been to the country...