Barack Obama and
Hillary Rodham Clinton clashed in the homestretch to the
critical New Hampshire primary, deriding each other's claims
to be the true candidate of change. Clinton told
Democratic voters they should elect ''a doer, not a
talker.'' Obama countered that his critics are stuck
in the politics of the past.
On the Republican
side, an emboldened John McCain declared ''I will
win,'' and rival Mitt Romney scrambled to prevent a second
big race to slip away in the frenzied final hours
before Tuesday's first-in-the nation New Hampshire
presidential primary.
The Republicans
met Sunday night for a candidate forum, a day after
Romney faced heat from his opponents in a debate for running
critical ads and shifting his positions on several
issues such as abortion, gun control, and gay rights.
The debate overshadowed his victory Saturday in the
scarcely contested Wyoming caucuses.
Said Romney on
Sunday: ''I'm planning on winning in New Hampshire.'' But
he added, ''It may not happen,'' reflecting new polls.
Former Arkansas
governor Mike Huckabee, who took first place in
Thursday's Iowa caucuses but trails in New Hampshire,
downplayed his own prospects but said, ''We're going
to do better than expected.''
Wide open and
intense, the race for the Republican nomination has gotten
ever tighter. A pair of fresh polls showed McCain, a senator
from Arizona, slightly ahead of Romney, a former
Massachusetts governor, two days before New Hampshire
votes. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani,
staking his hopes on later states, is trying to hold off
Huckabee for third.
Tuesday's primary
could also be pivotal for the Democrats. Obama, a
first-term senator from Illinois, is hoping to sustain
momentum from his caucus victory in Iowa, and Clinton,
a senator from New York and a former first lady, is
looking to recover from her stinging third-place finish.
A new USA
Today-Gallup poll showed Obama opening up a lead at
41%, Clinton 28%, and John Edwards 19%. The New
Hampshire poll was taken Friday through Sunday.
Edwards, who
barely beat Clinton for second place in Iowa, was joined
Sunday by three families who suffered medical tragedies as
he made an emotional case against insurance companies.
Picking up on a theme from the debates, Edwards told
reporters that he and Obama offer real change to
voters while Clinton represents ''the status quo.''
He also argued he
has more passion for change and would be more willing
than Obama to fight for his goals. ''He just believes you
can negotiate with people,'' Edwards said of his
rival.
Asked Sunday
about an alliance with Obama, Edwards said, ''I think there
is a conviction alliance.'' Then he added, ''First of all, I
wouldn't go so far as to call it an alliance. Let me
disagree with that.''
The stakes are
also huge for both McCain and Romney.
Romney, who
pinned his presidential bid on using momentum from big wins
in Iowa and New Hampshire, needs a victory to prove his
candidacy is not crippled after an Iowa drubbing.
McCain has put all his chips on a New Hampshire
victory that would repeat his success here eight years ago.
The acrimony of
Saturday night spilled over into Sunday morning as the
top candidates made the rounds of TV news shows before
heading out for campaign stops in snowy New Hampshire.
For Romney, the
day served as a final push to turn voters away from
McCain, calling his rival wrong on taxes and immigration.
In Nashua before
a crowd of 300, Romney pounded McCain for saying yet
again Sunday that he was right to vote against a set of Bush
administration tax cuts. ''He's simply wrong. Now he's
consistent, but he's wrong, and I'll take being right
over being consistent every day of the week,'' Romney
said.
McCain, for his
part, tried to walk a careful line.
He did not
mention his opponent during a question-and-answer session at
a Salem school, and he mostly resisted engaging in a
back-and-forth with Romney when pressed by reporters.
He did, however, repeat a claim against Romney that
has almost become a standard part of his pitch: ''He has
changed his position on almost every major issue,'' McCain
said.
Projecting
confidence, McCain proclaimed in a TV interview, ''I will
win.'' Underscoring how much is at stake in New Hampshire,
he added that victory is ''vital'' to his candidacy.
Huckabee spoke of
''a brotherhood'' of sorts with McCain, fueled by
Romney's criticism. ''We have both been brutally assaulted
by Governor Romney with amazingly misleading ads that
attacked and distorted and misrepresented our
records,'' Huckabee said.
At the same time,
Huckabee said he won Iowa ''because people believed
that there was a need for somebody who had clarity in his
positions. And I've stuck by those positions.''
Obama, who is
bidding to become the first black president, sounded an
upbeat tone throughout his campaign stops Sunday, telling
New Hampshire crowds their votes could propel him to
the Democratic nomination. ''You will have the chance
to change America in two days' time,'' he said.
Clinton, who is
trying to be the first woman president, went door-to-door
in Manchester with her daughter, Chelsea, for about an hour
seeking votes. After leaving one house, Clinton was
asked by a TV reporter how she felt about the
Democratic debate the night before.
''Really good,''
the senator said. ''We're starting to draw a contrast
for New Hampshire voters between talkers and doers.'' (AP)
