They’re Ba-a-a-ck!

Fri, January 04, 2008 - 6:41 AM

In New Hampshire, the stunning results in Iowa -- a record turnout for the caucuses and decisive, come-from-behind victories for Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama -- set the scene for a whirlwind four days before Tuesday's primary. Here are a few morning notes from the energized Granite State.
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Overnight, the presidential field narrowed, as Iowa pulled the plug on Chris Dodd and Joe Biden, but that didn't mean the campaign ads died. An ad for Biden was running on Manchester's WMUR this morning.
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The survivors, operating on little sleep, arrived in New Hampshire declaring a brand new day. Before dawn, John McCain, tied with Mitt Romney in New Hampshire polls for the lead, told WMUR-TV in Manchester he was "really happy" with his 13 percent in Iowa -- he hadn't campaigned much there -- and was looking forward to a positive campaign in the Granite State.
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Only 18 percent of voters here consider themselves born-again Christian, which is bad news for Huckabee. In Manchester, Huckabee, who didn't sleep overnight, told ABC's "Good Morning America," "It might be a little much in five days" to catch up with the GOP frontrunners in New Hampshire. But, "When we go to South Carolina, we're in a good shape."
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Bill Richardson, who got all of 2 percent in Iowa, is pinning his hopes on New Hampshire, where he has been campaigning for over a year. "I'm in the Final Four and anything can happen. New Hampshire voters like to send a message. Honing his, Richardson told WMUR, "I am making ending the war in Iraq the No. 1 issue." Richardson said he would visit eight cities in New Hampshire today.
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Good news about the weather. While it was at zero or below across the state this morning, a warming trend is predicted. Temperatures by Tuesday are expected to be in the balmy high-40s.

-- Marsha Mercer