The independents matter in New Hampshire

With the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, the candidates have already moved passed Iowa and are thinking about their next step.
New Hampshire is one of the few states that holds open primaries allowing independents to vote in either party's primaries. And because 44% of the registered voters in New Hampshire are not associated with either the Democratic or Republican parties, these independent voters will clearly have a huge part in determining the winners of this contest.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this will greatly help Obama and McCain, the nonconformists.
Because Obama won Iowa, independents that were on the edge before will gain more confidence in him and his experience.
On the Republican side, Huckabee's win in Iowa weakened Romney's campaign. This helped McCain because he and Romney are the two Republican front runners in New Hampshire. Also, in the 2000 election 62% of independents voted for McCain helping him win the New Hampshire primary.
According to a CNN poll, this year, however, 63% of independents will likely vote Democratic.
So, who knows, Obama may win again and McCain seems like he has a very good shot of succeeding in this primary as well.