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McCain Victory in NH, Clinton-Obama Still Too Close to Call
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
["Surprise" lead perhaps only to the stupid mainstream media who called
Hillary all washed up. Or maybe it's all those republicans who have no
candidate to vote for with any appeal, and decided to vote for Hillary
to give her a boost and thus the Democrats less juice for the real
election when they might be running some Mormon, Fundie or mobster
against her. -NYTr]
AP via Yahoo - Jan 8, 2008 22:23 ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080109/ap_on_el_pr/primary_rdp
Clinton holds surprise lead in seesaw N.H. race
By DAVID ESPO and PHILIP ELLIOTT,
Associated Press Writers
Arizona Sen. John McCain won the New Hamp****re primary Tuesday night,
completing a remarkable comeback and climbing back into contention for
the Republican presidential nomination. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
moved out to a startling lead over Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic
race.
"We showed the people of this country what a real comeback looks like,"
McCain told The Associated Press in an interview as he savored his
triumph. "We're going to move on to Michigan and South Carolina and win
the nomination."
Later, he told cheering sup****ters that together, "we have taken a
step, but only a first step toward repairing the broken politics of the
past and restoring the trust of the American people in their
government."
The Arizona senator rode a wave of sup****t from independent voters to
defeat former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, a showing that
reprised his victory in the traditional first-in-the-nation primary in
2000.
It was a bitter blow for Romney, who spent millions of dollars of his
own money in hopes of winning the kickoff Iowa caucuses and the first
primary ? and finished second in both. Even so, the businessman-turned
politician said he would meet McCain next week in the Michigan primary,
and he cast himself as just what the country needed to fix Wa****ngton.
"I don't care who gets the credit, Republican or Democrat. I've got no
scores to settle," he told sup****ters.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won the leadoff Iowa GOP
caucuses last week, was running third in New Hamp****re.
With votes counted from 51 percent of the state's precincts, McCain was
winning 37 percent of the vote, Romney had 32 and Huckabee 11. Former
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had 9 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul 8.
Clinton, the former first lady who finished third in Iowa, was mounting
an unexpectedly stiff challenge to Obama in the nation's first primary.
Polling place interviews showed that female voter ? who deserted
Clinton when she finished third in last week's Iowa caucuses ? were
solidly in her New Hamp****re column.
She also was winning handily among registered Democrats. Obama led her
by an even larger margin among independents, but he suffered from a
fall-off in turnout among young voters compared with Iowa.
She had 39 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary to 37 percent
for Obama, who is seeking to become the nation's first black president.
Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina trailed with 17 percent. New
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was fourth, polling less than five percent
of the vote.
Despite running a distant third to his better-funded rivals, Edwards
had no plans to step aside. He pointed toward the South Carolina
primary on Jan. 26, hoping to prevail in the state where he was born ?
and where he claimed his only victory in the presidential primaries
four years ago.
Regardless of the outcome, the Democratic race produced a patented New
Hamp****re surprise not unlike Bill Clinton's surge 16 years ago that
allowed him to proclaim himself the "comeback kid."
Obama drew huge crowds as he swept into the state after winning Iowa.
Confident of victory, he stuck to his pledge to deliver "change we can
believe in," while the former first lady was forced to retool her
appeal to voters on the run. She lessened her emphasis on experience,
and sought instead to raise questions about Obama's ability to bring
about the change he promised.
The grind took a toll on both of them.
Obama suffered from a sore throat, while Clinton's voice quavered at
one point when asked how she coped with the rigors of the campaign.
That unexpected moment of emotion became the talk of the final 24 hours
of a campaign that was unlike any other in history ? the most viable
black candidate in history against a former first lady, trying to
become the first women to occupy the Oval Office.
Clinton's performance came as a surprise even to her own inner circle.
In the hours leading up to the poll closing, her closest advisers had
appeared to be bracing for a second defeat at the hands of Obama.
Officials said her aides were considering whether to effectively
concede the next two contests ? caucuses in Nevada on Jan. 19 and a
South Carolina primary a week later ? and instead try to regroup in
time for a 22-state round of Democratic contests on Feb. 5.
These officials also said a campaign shake-up was in the works, with
longtime Clinton confidante Maggie Williams poised to come aboard to
help sharpen the former first lady's message. Other personnel additions
are expected, according to these officials, who spoke on condition of
anonymity while discussing strategy.
Obama, who won the leadoff Iowa caucuses last week, looked for an
endorsement from the powerful Culinary Workers union in Nevada in the
days ahead. South Carolina's Democratic electorate is heavily black and
likely to go for the most viable black presidential candidate in
history.
The Republican race turns next to Michigan, where McCain and Romney
already are advertising on television, and where both men planned
appearances on Wednesday. Huckabee also was expected to campaign in the
state.
According to preliminary results of a survey of voters as they left
their polling places, more independents cast ballots in the Democratic
race than in the Republican contest. They accounted for four of every
10 Democratic votes and about a third of Republican ballots. The survey
was conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks.
Republicans were split roughly evenly in naming the nation's top
issues: the economy, Iraq, illegal immigration and terrorism. Romney
had a big lead among those naming immigration, while McCain led on the
other issues.
Half of Republicans said illegal immigrants should be de****ted, and
this group leaned toward Romney. Those saying illegal immigrants should
be allowed to apply for citizen****p leaned toward McCain, while the two
candidates split those saying those here illegally should be allowed to
stay as tem****ary workers.
Among Democrats, about one-third each named the economy and Iraq as the
top issues facing the country, followed by health care. Voters naming
the economy were split about evenly between Obama and Clinton, while
Obama had an advantage among those naming the other two issues. Clinton
has made health care a signature issue for years.
About one-third said if Bill Clinton were running, they would have
voted for him on Tuesday.
It was hard to tell who needed a Republican victory more ? McCain or
Romney. McCain was the long-ago front-runner who survived a near-death
political experience when his fundraising dried up and his sup****t
collapsed. He shed much of his staff and regrouped. An unflinching
sup****ter of the Iraq war, he benefited when U.S. casualties declined
in the wake of a controversial building in U.S. troops. By the final
days of the New Hamp****re race, he held a celebration of sorts to mark
his 100th town hall meeting in the state he won eight years ago.
"It has all the earmarks of a landslide with the Dixville Notch vote,"
an upbeat McCain quipped ? he got four votes there to Romney's two and
one for Giuliani ? as his campaign bus headed to a polling place in
Nashua. The crowd of sup****ters was so big, that voters complained and
a poll worker pleaded with McCain to leave. Seconds later, the bus
pulled away.
[David Espo re****ted from Wa****ngton. AP writers Liz Sidoti, Nedra
Pickler, Scott Lindlaw, Glen Johnson, Beverley Wang, Charles Babington,
Holly Ramer and Clarke Canfield contributed to this re****t.]
*
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