Undecided voters give Obama hope in 2008 race

Posted 11 21 2007 5:44PM

ALTON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - David Tothill is neither aRepublican nor a Democrat but he knows what he wants in the2008 White House race -- a fresh face.

"I like to believe that we can have a leader whose familyname is not Bush or Clinton," said the 53-year-old retiredsoftware engineer after hearing Democratic presidentialcontender Barack Obama speak. "I like what Obama had to say."

The Illinois senator is counting on voters like Tothill,one of many undecided independent voters who can vote in eitherthe Republican or Democratic primary in the influential earlyvoting state of New Hampshire, well ahead of the November 2008election.

Obama has an uphill task. New York Sen. Hillary Clintonleads in national polls as well as in New Hampshire six weeksbefore the start of the state-by-state battle for theDemocratic nomination.

A CNN/WMUR poll by the University of New Hampshire releasedon Tuesday showed Clinton's lead widening over the past twoweeks to nine points from six points in the state thattraditionally holds the first presidential primary. One sign ofhope for Obama -- almost half of Democratic voters have notfinally decided.

There are some tentative signs that the fight for theDemocratic nomination may be tightening. A Washington Post-ABCNews poll on Monday showed Obama opening a four-point lead overClinton in Iowa, within the statistical margin of error.

"He (Obama) is the new face. I think New Hampshire votersrespond to that," said Boston University politics professorThomas Whalen.

"He doesn't seem like someone who goes by the traditionalscript. He's actually saying things that are different and NewHampshire voters, typically younger voters, respond to that."

In New Hampshire, the former first lady has aggressivelycourted both blue-collar, working-class Democrats and liberal,wealthier voters.

Obama took to the campaign trail in the gritty New Englandstate this week stressing the need for a new political era inWashington. With the primary likely to take place on January 8,he plans to return next week, knowing that a Clinton victorycould give her irresistible momentum.

"I hear candidates say, 'Elect me because I know how toplay the game better in Washington.' We don't need somebody whoplays the game better. We need somebody to put an end to thegame-playing," Obama told several hundred students andresidents at a town hall meeting in Alton, New Hampshire.

University of New Hampshire political scientist Dante Scalasaid Obama needs to do better among middle class liberals.

"They've got status jobs. They are professionals. They arelawyers. They've got a college education or more. That shouldbe Obama's core constituency, and I think they right now aretrying to figure out what to do," he said.

On the campaign trail in New Hampshire this week, Obamadrew large audiences and seemed to be connecting.

"I feel the hopefulness that Barack Obama has," said ChrisConlon, 39, of Pittsfield. "He's inspired me to ... reallyreach out and volunteer and talk to my neighbors a little bitmore. That's not politics as usual."

"He listens to people," added Francis Warman, 64, apsychologist from Hopkinton.

History teaches that many New Hampshire voters wait untilthe last moment to decide which gives both Clinton and Obamaplenty of time to change minds.

"Even among people who are committed, there's tremendousvolatility," said Alan Reische, an attorney from Manchester. "Idon't get the sense that people are absolutely decided and thatwe are looking at rigid voting blocks. New Hampshire is verycontrarian."

(Edited by Alan Elsner)