U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama, hoping to ride a wave of support from Democrats and independent voters, wrapped up his campaign in New Hampshire by promising to build a "working majority for change," by responding directly to questions about his qualifications raised by the Clinton campaign — and then by making a bet that "the excitement is just beginning."
Though his voice was strained and aides say he is tired from several weeks of nonstop campaigning, Obama nonetheless had, in public at least, an unmistakable spring in his step Monday, lingering over ropelines at stops where overflow crowds waited outside for a handshake or just a glimpse of the candidate.
Calling his growing army of backers "happy warriors for change," Obama said, "people are looking for somebody who can bring this country together."
But in a firm but measured fashion, Obama spent time at each stop turning back the criticisms leveled at him by the Clinton campaign. He said the "real gamble" was not being a relative newcomer to presidential politics, but was instead "to expect the same old folks doing the same old thing over and over and over" to make a difference. "We have to turn the page."
Obama also scissored Clinton for suggesting in a recent debate that he was raising the "false hopes" of the American people with his soaring rhetoric and talk of a new, productive, bipartisan era. "We don't need leaders who can tell us what we can't do," he responded. "We need leaders who can say, 'Yes, we can.' We don't need someone who plays the game better. We want an end to the game."
Undecided Hanover voter Jane Hooper, who caught up with Obama in Lebanon, is weighing a choice today between him and John Edwards. "Who knows what he can do when he gets in there," she said. But she liked what she heard: "He's fresh and we need something like that."
The only hiccup in Obama's final day came in Rochester, where a small group of protesters in the balcony of the Rochester Opera House interrupted his stump speech with a chant, "Abortion is an abomination." When Obama's backers began to drown out the dissidents with their own cheers, Obama hushed the crowd by saying, "This is an example of not listening to each other." But when the chanters would not stop, and the event seemed unable to continue, Obama moved toward a staircase to the balcony, seemingly prepared to talk to the chanters one on one — a dramatic maneuver that held no guarantee of success. He didn't actually mount the stairs and the protesters were soon escorted from the room.
Obama ended the moment by saying, "The excitement is over."
And then he added, "Or, it's just beginning."