New Hampshire

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The North American Free Trade Agreement doesn’t have a champion among either of the winners of the New Hampshire primary, who both say they want to scupper the deal should they win the presidency.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – A pair of protest candidates riding a message of rage against the political and economic machine are on the cusp of an until-recently-unthinkable triumph: Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are favoured to win today’s New Hampshire primary.

Alex Panetta on the working-class revolt that threatens America’s political order

Mitt Romney ended the New Hampshire primary with a decisive—albeit expected—victory and has a strong chance to win the January 21 primary in South Carolina as well. His purportedly strongest opponents in South Carolina—Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry—have little or no momentum and are unlikely to cause an upset at this stage. After just one week of primaries, only one first-tier candidate remains and that is Romney.

This is a tale of two potential front line candidates for the Republican nomination in 2012: Newt Gingrich, who may be announcing soon, and Sarah Palin, who may not announce at all. It is an illuminating story because it illustrates the current pitfalls facing the Republicans and the effect Gingrich and Palin are having on the early stages of the race by dominating news coverage of the GOP.

Must-reads: James Travers on the incredibly unedifying election we are about to endure; Rosie DiManno, Margaret Wente and Andrew Cohen on the much more interesting election Americans are about to enjoy.