RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
To test some of the theories of Hillary Clinton's comeback, we go to NPR's Linda Wertheimer now. She was in Jaffrey, New Hampshire last night to watch returns with local Democrats.
LINDA WERTHEIMER: Jaffrey is a tiny town. It has only one polling place, at the VFW Hall, where the turnout caused a traffic jam in this village at the foot of Mount Monadnock. The Jaffrey Democratic Committee had a potluck party to watch returns come in at the historic inn at Jaffrey Center, a rambling 150-year-old house.
Bobbie Gilbert, who is the Democratic chair, read us the local results.
Ms. BOBBIE GILBERT (Jaffrey Democratic Committee): We have the town moderator call us with the results.
WERTHEIMER: Okay, so it looks as though Mrs. Clinton is doing pretty well in Ringe.
Ms. GILBERT: She did. She was 377 to Obama's 343.
WERTHEIMER: It's much closer in Jaffrey.
Ms. GILBERT: It is, only by two votes.
WERTHEIMER: And as the evening went on, it began to look that as Jaffrey voted, so would the whole state vote, giving a narrow victory to Hillary Clinton.
Carol Brownwood(ph) analyzed the Clinton comeback this way.
Ms. CAROL BROWNWOOD: I think that in the last few days, Hillary really showed all facets of herself to people, that she was human, she cares. She convinced people at the debates that she's qualified, ready to go. I think we had all excellent candidates on the Democrat side, but she just had a little bit more.
WERTHEIMER: Did you happen to see that moment when Hillary Clinton - when somebody said something really nice to her...
Ms. BROWNWOOD: I did. I saw that replayed on the news and...
WERTHEIMER: What did it look like to you?
Ms. BROWNWOOD: It looked like that she was truly moved. And earlier, someone had said to me, knowing that I was a Hillary supporter, that she had no soul, and I think she proved that she indeed had soul.
(Soundbite of crowd)
WERTHEIMER: Anne Webb(ph) is a retired Episcopal priest, probably just the sort of woman who saved the Clinton candidacy last night in New Hampshire. She said she was fretting over her choices when she had an epiphany.
Ms. ANNE WEBB: All of a sudden, on Saturday morning, I woke up and I thought, well, I don't know why, if I like all of these people equally, I think it's all right not to vote for Hillary. And so I woke up on Saturday morning thinking I have to vote for Hillary; women in this country are never recognized for what they accomplish or what they say. And I must not fall into the trap of not acknowledging her contribution to government in this country.
Unidentified Man #1: She's winning, 48 percent.
WERTHEIMER: While Webb was describing her decision, standing in the bar at the inn, it became clear that Hillary Clinton was in fact winning. When she could make herself heard, Webb finished the story.
Ms. WEBB: And my daughter called me Saturday morning as I was coming to this. And she said, you know, she had been a committed Obama supporter. And she called me up Saturday morning and she said, when I was young I told you I was not going to be called a feminist. And she said, you looked at me and you said that's very ungrateful. And I'd forgotten. I didn't remember that at all. And she called me Saturday morning. She said, I'm going to vote for Hillary. I'm not going to vote for Obama. I cannot imagine what I was thinking. And so I had to say to her, me too.
WERTHEIMER: We heard from other Clinton supporters too, who like her experience or wanted to vote for women. But of course there were Obama voters like Bridget Johansson(ph), a farmer who raises grass-fed beef. She said she supported Clinton but switched to Obama.
Ms. BRIDGET JOHANSSON: Obama allows you to dare to hope. You get to move beyond the conflict. You get to move ahead to where we could be and what we might be and what we can be if we only have the will. And whatever happens in New Hampshire tonight, I think it doesn't matter so much as that what we're seeing now is we have a good contest between Hillary and Obama. And they're going to continue that for the next three or four weeks. And may the best candidate win.
WERTHEIMER: The Democrats of Jaffrey left the inn in just that sort of mellow mood, having played their important role, mostly satisfied with their little surprise for the rest of us.
Linda Wertheimer, NPR News, New Hampshire.