If it rained on election night, Mufi Hannemann would have taken it personally and demanded an apology from the clouds.

As it turned out, the skies were clear for the mayor's reelection and the stars foretold a journey toward higher office.

Hannemann, the well-financed, popular and smart incumbent, became so thin-skinned in this election, you'd think he was afraid of losing. Hannemann said that he was going to campaign like an underdog because that's how you win the game. But Hannemann played more the mad dog than underdog.

Maybe it's because for four years Hannemann has had to stand alone behind the rail project. The City Council didn't back him up, and even the ones who voted for it only sort-of supported it. They didn't stake their careers on it the way Hannemann did. Of course, Gov. Lingle certainly hasn't been an ally. It's been Hannemann alone taking all the slings and arrows, and lately it seemed like it was getting to him.

Hyper-sensitivity permeated the Hannemann campaign. His supporters hissed and booed at candidate forums as if insulted by differing opinions. His campaign volunteer Keith Rollman was talking lawsuits and issuing indignant statements this week saying he was not involved in a Panos Prevedouros-bashing Web site. Meanwhile Prevedouros himself, the target of the Web site in question, was being compared to Hitler and just shrugged off the insult, calling it stupid.

No one in the Hannemann camp thought anything was too stupid to ignore. Every buzzing fly was chased down and swatted with a vengeance.

This primary was fascinating from a social standpoint as it provided a measure of online activity versus real-life interaction on voting. The Stop Rail Now and Panos For Progress groups were busy with e-mails and Web sites. Panos had a blog with photos of potholes you know all too well. If you believed what popped up in a Google search, Prevedourus had a legion of anti-rail supporters. Meanwhile, Hannemann was at every community festival and cultural center shaking hands and singing medleys.

When it came down to election day, all the online chatter didn't translate to votes.

Spoiler candidate Ann Kobayashi made Hannemann's camp wait late into the night to see if they had to run a campaign for the general election.

But as for the November ballot question on rail, Hannemann can now make the argument that he is not alone; that Honolulu voters stand with him on his project.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.