|
Obama eyes New Hampshire
05/01/2008 13:40 - (SA)
New Hampshire - Barack Obama, flush from his stunning Iowa caucuses win, vowed to unleash a seismic wave of change across America, as he set his sights on victory in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.
The freshman Illinois senator also braced for a sharp new attack from Hillary Clinton, the long-time Democratic White House front-runner, who slumped into a humiliating third place in Thursday's first 2008 nominating contest.
"In four days' time we can choose to send a message that resonates all across the country," said Obama, as he fired up supporters ahead of the second leg of his bid to make history by becoming America's first black president.
Clinton meanwhile put a brave face on her defeat, and urged Democrats not to rush into making a "leap of faith" for the 46-year-old senator, as aides promised new political advertisements underscoring sharp contrasts between her and her rival.
She raised fresh questions about Obama's perceived lack of experience and how he would stand up to a barrage of Republican attacks in a general election.
'Who will go the distance'
"There cannot be false hopes, we have to pick a president who is ready on day one," Clinton said, repeatedly billing herself as an agent of change, in an apparent attempt to defuse Obama's prime campaign message.
"There are two big questions for voters in New Hampshire, one, is who will be the best president on day one?" Clinton said at a huge gathering of New Hampshire Democrats on Friday.
"Second, is, who can we nominate that will go the distance against the Republicans?"
The former first lady, on her quest to be America's first woman president, seeks the kind of boost in New Hampshire that revived husband Bill Clinton's White House dreams in 1992 and earned him the nickname the "Comeback Kid".
But time is short, as the compressed political calendar has reduced the time between Iowa and New Hampshire contests to just four days.
"It is a short period of time, but it is enough time - time for people to say, 'wait a minute'," Clinton said.
But the size of her task was reflected in entry polls taken before Iowa's caucuses, showing Obama beat her among women, union workers, and those wanting change.
The Clinton camp has argued New Hampshire will be a more favourable test for her chances, as a straight primary election, rather than the quirky horse trading of the caucuses, which despite record breaking numbers on Thursday, have a comparatively low turnout.
Message of hope
With a narrow lead in polls in New Hampshire, which could be threatened by the "bounce" expected by Obama's camp from his win in Iowa, Clinton needs to build a firewall to contain her rival.
Without directly naming the former first lady, beaten into third place behind rival John Edwards, Obama again attacked Clinton as a tired symbol of a poisoned political establishment.
"That is a gamble we cannot afford. That is a risk we cannot take. It is time to turn the page. It is time to stand up. It is time for us to create the kind of America we can believe in again," he said.
With back-to-back rallies in New Hampshire, Obama hopes to turn his victory in Iowa and his message of hope and cleansing into a national surge ahead of the November 4 vote to succeed President George W Bush.
|
News
