Well, the New Hampshire primary is over and once again we were delivered a couple of West Wing moments that undid the momentum of a nominee.
Last week, I said that we should watch for Marco Rubio's performance in New Hampshire because his third place win in Iowa had the potential to push him through the primary and potentially lead to a slow but steady race to the finish line.
But then it happened... two moments taken straight from the annals of a popular television show.
In two separate incidents, Rubio was caught using a pre-constructed campaign message that makes debating and town hall meetings so painful to watch. First, in the New Hampshire primary debate, Governor Chris Christie was able to pounce on Rubio's "30-second answer."
Rubio said: "When I'm President of the United States we are going to reembrace all the things that made America the greatest nation in the world and we are going to leave our children what they deserve: the single greatest nation in the history of the world."
And exactly like a West Wing debate in which Jed Bartlett (the fictional president) attacks his opponent's lack of nuance, experience and understanding of the complexity of the challenges of governing, Christie attacked Rubio: "the memorized 30-second speech, where you talk about how great America is at the end of it, doesn't solve one problem for one person..."
At that moment, Christie shot across the bow and hit Rubio squarely at the heart of his weakness: inexperience.
Then, only a short time later, the same problem arose at a town hall. Rubio's rehearsed 30-second statement got caught in his throat and you could hear his uneasiness as he repeated the same statement twice as the audience watched with obvious discomfort.
Just like the moment in the West Wing when the majority leader who is running for President is asked the question:
"C.J. (to Toby): (ecstatic) He got the question.
TOBY: Who?
C.J. The majority leader...
BONNIE: And what did he say?
C.J.: "The reason I would run, were I to run, is I have a great belief in this country as a country, and in this people as a people, that go into making this country a nation with the greatest natural resources and people, educated people."
And here's Rubio pitch:
"We are taking our message to families that are struggling to raise their children in the 21st century because as you saw Jeannette and I are raising our four children in the 21st century and we know how hard it's become to instill our values in our kids instead of the values they try to ram down our throats.
"In the 21st century it's become harder than ever to instill in your children the values they teach in our homes and in our church instead of the values that they try to ram down our" (and here you see him catch himself and pause) "throats in the movies, in music, in popular culture..."
And because of those two moments, replayed in the news and analyzed by the pundits, Rubio slipped into fifth place.
Now this does not mean that he is necessarily out of the race but it does demonstrate that every day on the campaign trail is a walk of peril.
On the Democratic side, Hilary Clinton should have heeded the warning from the West Wing episode I mentioned last week and she should have got out of New Hampshire. She should have been in South Carolina getting a big head start on Bernie Sanders because she can win there.
She walked into the trap of bringing Gloria Steinem and Madeleine Albright into the campaign to chide young women for voting with Sanders.
Let's face it, it is likely that many of the women to whom they were speaking were unaware of the legacy of these two important figures in the feminist movement but worse, to chastise a young person and to say "we elders know better" is to poke a stick at their independence and personal concerns.
I'm not sure why Bernie Sanders speaks to this demographic but he does.
If young female voters feel strongly about his candidacy then it is not surprising that they are not swayed by arguments that tell them that they should think and vote otherwise.
