Hillary Clinton supporter Sen. Dianne Feinstein believes her colleague’s emotional scene at a New Hampshire coffee shop the day before that state’s primary was a major moment.

In the aftermath of the Iowa loss and the polls showing she was in for a drubbing in New Hampshire, Clinton got emotional (photo)  when asked about the relentless pressure of the campaign. Yesteday, she turned the tide and won in New Hampshire. Many political pundits thought the display swung the race in her favor, particularly considering her victory was overwhelmingly fueled by the women’s vote.

What do you think? Read the rest of this posting to get Feinstein’s take on it.

Join the discussion here.

- Gene Harbrecht

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“It would have been great if (Barack Obama) had won – that might have put Hillary out of it – but he only lost by a few points. It’s minor,” said Jay Funsch, an Anaheim supporter of Obama. “His speech — it’s phenomenal how he speaks. I tend to think he’s going to be a lot better for the country than Hillary.”

Funsch would prefer to see Dennis Kucinich be the next president, but he’s turned his support to Obama as a practical move.

– Martin Wisckol

“None of us are really hot on jumping ship just because of the two lowly states of Iowa and New Hampshire,” said John Edwards‘ backer Bill Honigman. “I got more votes in my central committee race than Dennis Kucinich got in the whole state of New Hampshire.”

As was mentioned here during the Iowa caucuses, there’s an unusually large number of Edwards supporters among Democratic activists in Orange County — that’s why they’re turning up so frequently on the blog.

– Martin Wisckol

Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Santa Ana, a Hillary Clinton supporter, said tonight’s win turns things around for a campaign that was beginning to attract some naysayers.

“I was in the gym on the treadmill and when I saw Barack Obama start to talk, I thought it was another victory speech,” he said. “But then I heard the results and she pulled it off. I was pleasantly surprised.

“A lot of people thought she wasn’t going to have the staying power to stay even until Super Tuesday (Feb. 5). But this reenergizes everything, including the volunteers and the donors. This shows she has staying power.”

– Martin Wisckol

Spoke with Chris Prevatt, a blogger at TheLiberalOC.com and a supporter of John Edwards.

“As Edwards said, there’s still 99 of the people who still have to vote,” he said. “Now people will pay attention more because it’s not a foregone conclusion that it will be Barack or it will be Hillary.”

– Martin Wisckol

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  Andrew Davey is “feeling great tonight.”The political science student who lives in Santa Ana and blogs at TheLiberalOC.com says the polls that showed Barack Obama was going to beat Hillary Clinton by double-digits really worried him.

But he thinks after Clinton broke down at a Portsmouth coffee shop yesterday that “New Hampshire Democrats had a gut check moment and realized that this woman, Hillary Clinton, she’s the real deal.”

-Dena Bunis

The fact that Wylie Aitken (photo) called off his plan to campaign in New Hampshire is, in fact, a testament to John Edwards‘ commitment to the long run.

Aitken, chairman of the Democratic Foundation of Orange County, spent a week campaigning for Edwards in Iowa, but decided to skip New Hampshire so he could help out instead in Nevada for that state’s Jan. 19 caucus.

“When John decided that he was in it and in it all the way, we decided I would stay here and get some work done at my day job, and go to Nevada,” he said.

– Martin Wisckol

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Rep. John Campbell is disappointed his presidential choice — Mitt Romney — didn’t win in New Hampshire. But the Irvine Republican predicts this race will go on for some time.

“I don’t think what we saw tonight knocked anybody out on either side,’’ said Campbell.

His analysis of what happened?  “The undecided cut away from him’’ and went to Mike Huckabee, who finished third today . “It’s a long war of attrition.  I’d rather finish second everywhere then first one place and fourth or fifth in other places. It shows you have a nationwide base that’s solid and you just need to expand it.”

-Dena Bunis 

Former California Secretary of State Bill Jones (photo) is heading up John McCain’s campaign in the state. I got him on the phone for a few minutes.

“We’re very excited,” he said. “I called the senator tonight and he was very pleased.”

What about the dough?

“The senator’s fundraising has picked up over the past month, and it will continue to pick up now.”

– Martin Wisckol

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Lincoln Club former chairman Michael Capaldi wasn’t committed to a candidate before today’s New Hampshire primary and he still isn’t.

And he believes the wide-open race for his party’s nomination is a good thing.

“The public never loses when thre’s a food fight and that’s what we’ve got on our hands. People start to yawn when it looks like a coronation,” Capaldi said. “The party needs to debate. We have to decide what we are. We’ve had eight years of difficulty and frustration.”

-Dena Bunis