Democrats are obviously excited about all the Bain-bashing that the New Hampshire campaign seems to have instigated, if not validated. It softens Romney for the general election, goes the thinking.

Now, I think they are less important than how Romney has responded to them. They've clearly made Romney uncomfortable: his demeanor has edged into humanoid, albeit with the mien of someone who's drunk coffee for the very first time. He's irritable and defensive and unable to generate the greasy humility that enables voters to swallow politicians' bloated boasts and unfounded promises.

Whether these attacks are truly divisive (weakening Romney and the party) remains to be seen, but they might be more a symptom of a crack-up than a cause. The GOP responded to the Occupy Wall Street protests in the most reactionary way possible, with a blanket defense of capitalism that held, as a matter of course, that any way of running any business was defensible, as long as it was profitable.

"President Obama wants to put free enterprise on trial," Romney said last night.

But it's not free enterprise that's on trial – it's Romney. There are many conservative, unemployed (or under-employed, or fearful-for-their-job) workers who are the judges. You can love the free market and still find the kind of corporate strong-arming Romney did at Bain offensive. You can want to make a profit and still not take any joy in firing people.

The great news about last tonight, of course, is that no one is getting any pink slips out of New Hampshire. The second-tier candidates will all soldier on to South Carolina, which means I don't have to start working on my resume yet, either.