by Mark Silva

The Granite State finally carved in stone its 2008 presidential primary election date today.

Jan. 8.

"It is kind of fitting that on the eve of Thanksgiving, a uniquely American tradition, I'm pleased to announce that another important American tradition will endure,'" said Bill Gardner, New Hampshire's secretary of state, in an announcement of the election date just now in Concord. "New Hampshire has held the first presidential primary since 1920.''

With the Iowa caucuses set for Jan. 3, the 2008 presidential nominating season already was set to open earlier than ever before. And with a spree of megastates voting on Feb. 5, the season may effectively end sooner than ever before as well.

The Michigan Supreme Court today cleared the way for a primary there on Jan. 15, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida are all set to run primaries or caucuses in January as well.

But New Hampshire, whose own state law requires that its primaries come before all others, has moved to ensure that Dixville Notch preserves its place in presidential nominating lore.

New Hampshire, which gave Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona a dramatic boost in 2000 with his 19-point primary victory over then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, will be critical to the McCain campaign again this winter. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is favored there. But for McCain, the state's vote could be fateful. Among Democrats, the state will provide a critical test of any rival's ability to thwart the bid of front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, whose apparent advantage has slipped in New Hampshire polls in recent weeks.