In other news, independents helped propel John McCain to victory in the nation's first primary. Mitt Romney came in second, losing independents by a significant margin while basically splitting the Republican vote with McCain, 35 to 34 percent. Romney speaks so fondly of Wyoming you start to think that maybe he should build a house there. In a gracious concession, Romney appealed to supporters with - what else? - an Olympics metaphor, telling them he has won "two silvers and a gold" and plans to stay in the race until the finish. One should recognize, however, that Romney's original path to the nomination, in which he planned to use victories in Iowa and New Hampshire to build momentum and national support, has imploded. It's hard to see where he goes from here. Then again, it's hard to see where any of the Republicans goes from here. Michigan is next, followed by Nevada and South Carolina, both on 19 January. Michigan liked McCain in 2000, and his New Hampshire victory is likely to provide some bounce. Meanwhile, Michigan is in the economic doldrums, and its rural Republicans may opt for Huckabee's populism and strong personal values. Also, Romney was born there and his dad was governor. But since then his family hasn't had much luck in the state, politically speaking. A footnote: Giuliani also beat expectations tonight - after all, he didn't finish behind Ron Paul.