US:The 'Obama effect' continues to make inroads, writes Denis Staunton, in New Hampshire
Before 19-year-old Elena Milius heard Barack Obama speak in her home town of Lebanon yesterday morning, she wasn't sure who to vote for in today's primary.
But as she left the hour-long rally, passing more than 400 people who had failed to get into the building, her mind was made up. "I'm ready to vote for him," she said.
"He actually talked about people my age. He trusts us. He believes in the people as much as the people believe in him."
With new polls giving Obama a lead of up to 13 points over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, the Clinton campaign is struggling to avoid a rout that could scare away donors and demoralise supporters.
Obama was brimming with confidence in New Hampshire, telling his audience that they were close to transforming the political landscape of the United States.
"It's true. People want something better. And Washington has started to realise that," he said.
Over the weekend, Clinton turned her fire on Obama, demanding that he should be subjected to greater scrutiny over what she characterised as inconsistencies in his record. She warned voters against taking a risk on a candidate who was likeable but lacked experience, arguing that she had a measurable record of effecting political change.
Obama said that the Washington establishment was horrified by the prospect of an outsider coming to town to shake things up and end the cosy relationship between government and corporate lobbyists.
"The real gamble in this election is to have the same old folks doing the same old things over and over and over again and somehow expecting a different result," he said.
Obama said he wasn't surprised that the huge crowds who came to his rallies were becoming real voters, despite the predictions of many political analysts. "I was absolutely convinced that the size of our challenges outstripped the capacity of a broken and divided politics to solve; that the American people were hungry for a different kind of politics that was grounded in our common values, on our common ideas," he said.
"I was banking on you. I decided to run because of you. I decided to run because the American people are decent and honourable and generous. They're not as divided as our politics suggest."
Lebanon student Quinby McLennan was persuaded, saying she was less interested in the precise detail of Obama's policies than in how he presented them.
"I just love his manner and his diplomacy. I love the idea of hope and peace," she said.
Murray Ngoima, whose husband is Kenyan, knew Obama's father at Harvard. She said the Kenyan often spoke about the two-year-old son he left behind in Hawaii.
"His father was just as charismatic as he is," she said.
Tom Keane has watched presidential candidates speaking in New Hampshire for more than half a century but he said he had never seen anything like Obama.
"I never thought I'd say this but he's better than John F Kennedy," he said.
Earlier, in Nashua, John McCain appeared at the first of six events in New Hampshire, with polls suggesting that he will once again win the state where he defeated George W Bush in the 2000 Republican primary.
"There's a lot of nostalgia around here this morning," he said as he stood on the snow-covered steps of the city hall.
McCain has overtaken former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in the Republican race but he is depending on Independent voters to clinch victory in this key primary, many of whom are also drawn to Obama.
"The Independents may go 60-70 per cent to Obama and 30 per cent to McCain. That should be enough," said Robert Dyer, who was carrying an "Irish for McCain" sign.