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Politics

McCain, Clinton make comebacks in N.H.

Both campaigns manage to stay alive going into next round.

By WES ALLISON, Times Staff Writer
Published January 9, 2008

GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, with his wife, Cindy, thanks supporters Tuesday night in Nashua, N.H.
	[AP photo]

ADVERTISEMENT [AP photo] Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton celebrates her primary victory Tuesday night with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, in Manchester, N.H. [Martha Rial | Times] Young supporters anxiously watch results trickle in Tuesday night at Sen. Obama's primary night rally in Nashua, N.H. Obama couldn't carry over the momentum of his Iowa surge. [Martha Rial | Times] Michelle Obama hugs her husband Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., as he takes the stage Tuesday night at his primary night rally in Nashua, N.H.

NASHUA, N.H. - Hillary Rodham Clinton narrowly upset Barack Obama in New Hampshire's Democratic primary Tuesday night, riding her message of proven experience to a surprising resurgence that slowed Obama just as it seemed he was about to take off.

New Hampshire also rescued Sen. John McCain from a political graveyard, giving him a solid victory over Mitt Romney. McCain needed to win to remain viable in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, and his five-point victory over the one-time leader further scrambled the Republican field.

It is also likely to give McCain a much-needed burst of fundraising and momentum as he heads into the next round of primaries in Michigan, South Carolina and Florida.

But McCain's comeback, as amazing as it was, was overshadowed by Clinton's victory. Polls had shown Obama, who defeated Clinton in Iowa, with a significant lead going into election day, and her campaign had been down-playing the outcome before voting even started.

The presumptive nominee for much of the past year, suddenly no one was expecting her to win.

"I come tonight with a very, very full heart, and I want especially to thank New Hampshire," Clinton said to chants of "Hillary" late Tuesday night. "I felt like we all spoke from our hearts, and I am so gratified that you responded. Now let's give America the kind of comeback that New Hampshire has just given me."

Her surprise victory was reminiscent of her husband's second-place finish in New Hampshire in 1992, which breathed new life into his successful campaign.

The polls were still open Tuesday afternoon when Clinton advisers buzzed about a major shakeup designed to rejuvenate her campaign, and discussed whether she should skip the South Carolina primary on Jan. 26 in order to focus on other states she had a better chance of winning.

"This is a big, big win for Hillary Clinton," said Terry McAuliffe, Clinton's campaign chairman. "It's now a one-on-one race as we go forward, but it's a good night for us."

Obama addressed a cheering crowd in Nashua before Clinton spoke, appearing upbeat.

"A few weeks ago no one imagined that we could have accomplished what we did tonight in New Hampshire," he said. "We always knew our climb would be steep, but in record numbers you spoke up for change, and with your voices and your votes, you made it clear that at this moment, in this election, there is something happening in America. ... Change is happening in America."

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards finished a distant third among the Democrats. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was fourth.

Among the Republicans, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister who won in Iowa last week, placed third, better than expected in a state where evangelicals and social conservatives constitute only a small part of the Republican electorate.

But even McCain's advisers seemed stunned by the margin of his victory over Romney. McCain had won the New Hampshire primary in 2000, launching his status as a national candidate, but only a month ago he trailed Romney by about 15 percentage points.

Always lively, McCain had appeared buoyant in recent days as polls showed him pulling ahead of Romney. In a flag-draped ballroom at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Nashua, McCain took the stage shortly after 9 p.m. as the theme from Rocky blared over the loudspeakers and hundreds of supporters chanted, "Mac is back, Mac is back."

"My friends, you know, I'm past the age when I can claim the noun 'kid,' no matter what adjective precedes it. But tonight, we sure showed them what a comeback looks like," said McCain, who is 71.

"When the pundits declared us finished, I told them I'm going to New Hampshire where the voters don't let you make their decision for them.

"I reasoned with you, I listened to you, I answered you. Sometimes, I argued with you ... And you did me the great honor of listening."

The outcome Tuesday night marked another bitter rejection for Romney. He's the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts, so voters here know him well. He campaigned in the state more than any other candidate. He outspent McCain on advertising by more than 2-to-1. He established a robust grass roots operation. He owns a lakefront vacation home in Wolfeboro, N.H.

"There have been three races so far. I've gotten two silvers and one gold," Romney told supporters in Manchester. His gold was a win in the tiny Wyoming caucus last weekend. "It's time to send somebody to Washington who will actually get the job done. I don't think it's going to get done by Washington insiders."

In July, McCain's campaign was on life support. He was polling as low as 10 percent in New Hampshire, thanks to his support for a failed immigration reform plan that would have provided a route to legal status for millions of illegal immigrants. His ability to raise money nearly collapsed.

But 44 percent of New Hampshire voters aren't registered with a party, and McCain seemed to make it his mission to meet every one.

He held more than 100 town hall meetings across the state, including about a dozen in the past week, which he used to bolster his reputation as a straight-talking independent.

"Look at these turbulent times," said Scott Hilliard of Concord, N.H., the sheriff of Merrimack County. "We have to know what we're doing. That's important."

That was the message Clinton counted on carrying the election for her in New Hampshire as well. At campaign rallies and in her advertisements, she emphasized her seven years in the U.S. Senate and her eight years as an influential and active first lady to her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

In Obama, Clinton faced a talented orator who, as a member of the Senate for just three years, energized voters by promising change. "I think Hillary and Obama both have what it takes to change the country," said Debbie Seidel, a student at the University of New Hampshire. "But I feel like Obama has more heart. I just like him more as a person. When he talks, people listen, and I think people believe in him."

But in the end, her message of experience won out for voters like Pam Seidel, 58, of Salem, who chose Clinton for "her experience and being able to start Day One. And I like being able to vote for a woman."

The secretary of state predicted a record turnout, and as many as 50,000 unregistered voters expected to register to vote when they came to the polls. Turnout was helped by unseasonably warm weather, with temperatures in the 50s across much of the state. So many people, in fact, voted that many polling places asked the state for extra ballots, so they wouldn't run out.

All of the candidates hope the enthusiasm holds for the next six weeks, when the bulk of the delegates will be awarded in a string of contests across the country. Even though two most important early races, Iowa and New Hampshire, are out of the way, the field remains muddled.

[Last modified January 9, 2008, 00:13:53]