For years Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been married to America's self-described "comeback kid." She became one herself overnight.
Knocked off her front-runner perch by rival Barack Obama last week in Iowa, Ms Clinton was destined for a second straight loss in New Hampshire, maybe even by double digits, opinion polls said.
But then the votes were counted.
A heavy voter turnout by women helped turn back Mr Obama in New Hampshire to give a narrow, important victory to Ms Clinton in her drive to become the first woman US president.
New Hampshire may provide the 60-year-old New York senator with momentum in the race to determine which Democrat will face the Republican choice in the November election to succeed President George W Bush.
Mr Obama, who would become the first black US president, could declare a measure of success also, having come in a close second in New Hampshire ahead of another statewide vote in South Carolina later this month.
In 1992 Ms Clinton's husband, Bill, managed a second-place finish in New Hampshire at a time when he was being dogged by accusations of marital infidelity and draft-dodging.
Usually carefully scripted and in control of her temperament, Hillary Clinton let the people of New Hampshire see her emotions for a change.
At a debate on Saturday, she angrily denounced Mr Obama for insisting he represented change and that she was symbolic of the status quo in Washington. She said she had been fighting for change for 35 years.
When told by the ABC News moderator that Mr Obama seemed better liked than she was, she responded coyly: "Well, that hurts my feelings ... He's very likeable. I agree with that. I don't think I'm that bad."
Then on Monday tears welled in her eyes when a woman asked her how she managed in the face of all the pressures. It may have been a turning point in her campaign for the nomination and the presidency.