If I've learned anything about Iowa besides what a bad idea it is to hand the party's nomination process to 100,000 Mid-Westerners that have been saturated with advertising and campaigning for three months, it's that finishing better than expected is just as important as winning.
With this in mind, by what criteria can the various candidates claim to have exceeded expectations in New Hampshire? I will define this as a finish that generates positive momentum for the candidate in question.
Kerry: He needs to win. Does he need to win by a large margin?
Dean: Dean needs to win or lose by a margin of less than 5 points. Or, does he have to win to get real momentum?
Edwards: A third place finish. Does he need to finish within 10 points of Dean?
Clark: Also needs a third place finish. I think he just needs to beat Edwards.
Lieberman: Needs to top 10%.
Kucinich: Needs to find a date.
Sharpton: Needs to find NH.