Once again, New Hampshire voters have shown their penchant for turning conventional wisdom on its head.

On the Republican side, Arizona Sen. John McCain won as the pre-election polls suggested he would. But my, oh my, what a surprise we had from the Democrats.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was supposed to win and Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York was going to finish second at best. That's what every poll prior to the vote was saying. That's what the pundits were saying. That's what the massive crowds at Obama rallies and the boos of Clinton at Democratic dinners were saying. It's even what Clinton's own internal pollsters were saying.

The New Hampshire vote was going to prove that Clinton was finished, send her packing back to New York and show the world she's not the campaigner her husband, Bill, was.

Wrong, wrong and wrong.

Early returns showed Clinton with a six-point lead over Obama that dwindled as the night went on. But Clinton held on to claim a 39 percent to 37 percent victory over Obama. In one night, Clinton revitalized her campaign and Obama's post-Iowa momentum evaporated.

Now, all the pollsters and election analysts are struggling to figure out how they went so wrong. Among the theories: Clinton's teary-eyed explanation of the difficulties of the campaign won women over to her cause. Clinton won 45 percent of the women's vote compared with 36 percent for Obama. Another possibility: All those people turning out at the Obama rallies were looking for a glimpse of the man - but weren't necessarily ready to vote for him. Clinton also won most of Southern New Hampshire with the exception of a few Seacoast communities.

Among the Republicans, McCain's campaign was resurrected from the dead. When the senator visited our editorial board last summer his campaign was moribund. McCain was out of money and had just fired two top staffers. The senator was flying coach to his campaign stops.

But New Hampshire has always liked McCain's maverick charm. The state gave him a surprise win over George Bush in 2000. Eight years later, the magic worked again.

McCain's win was a blow to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who, unlike previous presidential contenders from the Bay State, Paul Tsongas and John Kerry, could not win the state next door. Romney, however, did win most of the communities along the Massachusetts border.

There certainly was no shortage of enthusiasm for all the campaigns. Voter turnout set a record with 526,671 ballots cast in a state with an estimated 831,000 registered voters, plus any who signed up Tuesday. That's a whopping 63 percent. Well done.

Now, the campaigns have moved to Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida. But New Hampshire has once again proven its worth as the first-in-the-nation primary. We got to see the candidates at their best and their worst. Granite State voters gave new life to two campaigns that ought to get closer looks around the rest of the nation. Some others would be wise to head for the exits.

Let's do it all again in another four years.