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We woke up this morning and turned on the TV to find uncle-cute Matt Lauer interviewing dad-cute John Edwards on the Today show. It was a short interview, but long enough for Edwards to get across his main point: “Senators Obama and Clinton have over $100 million in their campaign chests,” he told Matt. “I am the underdog in this race, just like the middle class in America.” Bam! It was time, we realized, for every candidate to give his or her last word to New Hampshire voters (and no, the 11.5 voters in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, who “elected” Obama and McCain last night are not the final word). So what did they go with this time?
Mitt Romney: The former Massachusetts governor began stumping around the state in front of a huge sign that said “WASHINGTON IS BROKEN.” It’s apparently his new motto (“Fix” is the new “Change!”). He also created a giant list of fifteen presidential to-dos that were supplied by New Hampshire residents he spoke to. He’s literally asking voters to write his platform, people. The list included things like “Make America Safer,” “End Illegal Immigration,” “Cut the Pork,” and “Strengthen Our Families.” Nos. 14 and 15 on the list were empty because nobody told him what to put there. So populist, so budget. [National Review]
Hillary Clinton: As if the crying weren’t clear enough, she felt the need to explain it. “I actually have emotions,” she said. “I know there are some people who doubt that.” [Hot Air] She also released this ad on New Hampshire TV stations:
John McCain: In a rally in Exeter last night, he spent most of his time talking up national security and the war on terror. “My friends, I will get Osama bin Laden if I have to follow him to the gates of hell,” he said to applause. “And I will bring him to justice.” Is it bad or good that we forgot about Osama bin Laden for a minute during this election? [National Review]
Mike Huckabee: Huckabee played one of his two strongest cards last night, and it wasn’t the “I’m so Christian I have crosses floating around me” one. It was the humor card, which will probably work a whole lot better on independent-minded New England voters. He made an appearance on Letterman. “If I win New Hampshire, it’s because I did this show,” Huckabee explained. Then he added: “If I lose New Hampshire, it’s because I did this show.” [WP]
Barack Obama: Predictably, Obama stuck with what works — and tried not to look too smug while doing so. “I know [change] will be difficult,” the senator said to an adoring, young crowd in the Granite State. “But I also know that the only magnificent things that have ever happened in this country happened because a few people somewhere decided to believe.” See, it’s not Obama who’s stupendous. It’s you, the voters! [HuffPo]
Rudy Giuliani: You almost forgot about him, didn’t you? Well, he knows. “As a Republican it has to come down to who do you think will win the general election, because if we nominate the wrong one and don’t win the general, then we have a President Obama or President Clinton or President Edwards,” the former mayor told a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire. “I think I have the best chance of winning the general election, and I also believe I have the most experience in terms of having been tested in very different executive jobs.” Giuliani’s focusing on other states even as he campaigns in New Hampshire. Now that’s what we call strategy. [Boston Globe]
