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U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in Dover, New Hampshire, on Tuesday. (Reuters)
Last update - 19:43 08/01/2008
Trailing in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton feels the heat
By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: U.S. elections 
RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE: As polls show Obama has a double digit lead in, Clinton gets emotional.

SALEM, NEW HAMPSHIRE- Over exaggeration among politicians is an inseparable part of election campaigns, and on Sunday afternoon, Clinton was caught in a moment of weakness. "We can never ever give up on helping to bring peace," Clinton said. She was not referring to the Israelis or Palestinians and her husband's peace initiative at Camp David, but rather the peace in Northern Ireland, a more successful venture of Bill Clinton's administration, which his wife has taken credit for.

The United States needs to go back "and to be a peacemaker," she said as she described her meetings on the Irish conflict. This was her way of convincing voters in New Hampshire that she has more experience needed to be president than Obama.

Looking ahead to Tuesday's presidential primary in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton's situation looks appears to be severe. A new Gallup poll has Barak Obama with a 13 percent lead. Among Democrats, Obama is leading Clinton 39 percent to 31 percent, and among independent voters he gets 46 percent of the votes to Clinton's 23. While men undoubtedly prefer Obama - 49 percent to 20 percent - he is also leading among women - Clinton's clear target group - 36 percent to 34 percent. In the Rasmussen poll, Obama has even a bigger lead - 39 percent to 23 percent. Her standings, morning of the primaries, are damaging.
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Clinton's advisers have begun to remind the public that Bill Clinton also lost the 1992 Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary and still won the nomination. While this is true, the circumstances were different. In Bill Clinton's case, the candidate who won in Iowa didn't win in New Hampshire. In Iowa, Tom Harkin won but there was no real race there because Harkin was an Iowa senator and it was clear that he would win. In New Hampshire, Paul Tsongas, a senator of neighboring Massachusetts, won. As such, despite the fact the Clinton did not win in either state, the race was still wide open and after a few more losses, Clinton finally came out on top.

If Obama wins on Tuesday, it is an entirely different story. No candidate has ever lost the nomination after winning the first two states since the current primary system was established 35 years ago. Therefore, if the polls are right, Obama will become the leading candidate Tuesday. Following her loss in Iowa, Clinton complained about the voting system there and lauded New Hampshire's system. If she loses there to, she will have to think of other justifications for her defeat in the state her staff has called a "firewall" if Iowa is lost.

"If I had had eight more days," Mo Udall complained when he almost beat Jimmy Carter in New Hampshire in 1976. But for Clinton, each extra day only complicates the situation.

Three hours after her appearance in Nashua, a large crowd gathered in Salem and waited to hear Obama. Tardiness is part of any election campaign but this time, Obama outdid himself as he made voters wait for two hours. A quick calculation shows that in the past week, I have waited over 15 hours for different candidates to show up. An hour and a half for McCain, and hour and 15 minutes for Edwards, an hour for Clinton, two hours for Obama, another hour for McCain, another hour and a half for Edwards, etc., etc.

It is clear from Obama's speech that he knows the battle is far from over. Clinton still leads in the national polls which may come into play on Super Tuesday on February 5th. And yet, as the race goes on it is becoming evident that the hope for "change" - a buzzword that everyone is using - is most identified with Obama.

On Sunday, Clinton tried to turn things around on this front. If "you" say you will vote against the Patriot Act and in the end you vote for it, "that's not change," Clinton said as she went on to give more examples. Obama promised and didn't deliver - "that's not change". Obama said something and didn't do it - "that's not change". Obama "voted for Dick Cheney's energy bill" she said, and this time, the crowd yelled back, "that's not change."

Among those yelling was Joshua Miller, a young Jew from Boston, who volunteers to for the Clinton campaign, said that "she probably has my vote" when the primaries come to Massachusetts. "Probably," but not for sure. He sees himself as an "independent" and he does not rule out the possibility that he will vote Republican.

In any event, when votes are placed Tuesday, Miller will already be on a plane. The destination: Ben Gurion Airport. He's traveling for 10 days touring the country with a group of professors and students from his school, Bowdoin College in Maine. The only Jew in the group, bringing useful background: he's the only one who has visited Israel. Last year, Miller spent an entire semester at Tel Aviv University.

John McCain is a favorable candidate for Miller. He understands the challenge of the fundamental Islam better, Miller believes. According to Tuesday morning polls, McCain seems as though he might win in New Hampshire- a critical, if not fatal blow to the candidate who up until a few weeks ago was the leading candidate- Mitt Romney from Massachusetts.

But here's a fact that can ruin the polls' forecast: On Sunday evening, Romney delivered an excellent performance in a debate on the FOX news channel between the Republican candidates. The question is, of course, how many voters watched and how many will change their decision after? Clinton, who is the most centrist Democratic candidate, seems to him a reasonable choice, although the truth is that he only came to support her because a friend asked him to.
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  1.   Hillary is out? Great news! 13:59  |  Natallie Durson 08/01/08
  2.   Obama a mistake for U.S. 14:25  |  David 08/01/08
  3.   Hillary feeling heat for close ties to Israel 14:30  |  Steven Grumman 08/01/08
  4.   Hillary 14:57  |  J Charte 08/01/08
  5.   Barack Obama is not the right US president for our time 15:05  |  Shoshana Thomasson 08/01/08
  6.   PRAY! 15:26  |  Shari 08/01/08
  7.   IT`S A SAD DAY FOR AMERICA 15:36  |  Helen 08/01/08
  8.   ITS A SAD DAY FOR AMERICA 15:42  |  Helen 08/01/08
  9.   The Obama Heat 15:51  |  Brod 08/01/08
  10.   Shoshana Thomason #5 16:04  |  Brod 08/01/08
  11.   We don`t need a Prez that cries. Cry Cry Baby... 16:09  |  POP 08/01/08
  12.   The Glove Puppet Presidential Election 16:16  |  Clickfool 08/01/08
  13.   1 16:20  |  zionist forever 08/01/08
  14.   Barack Obama`s response showed Class 16:45  |  Charles 08/01/08
  15.   David the anti-semite - Obama is a Christian! 16:58  |  American GI 08/01/08
  16.   WOMAN FOR PRESIDENT 17:04  |  YOANY 08/01/08
  17.   OBAMA will be the NEXT PRESIDENT 17:06  |  Huckabee nomination 08/01/08
  18.   Helen #7,8 17:15  |  Brod 08/01/08
  19.   # 7-8 ..NICE PEOPLE CANNOT GOVERN. 17:20  |  Stephen. 08/01/08
  20.   Jillary Clinton 17:33  |  seoul 08/01/08
  21.   do any of the posters actually understand that 17:40  |  victor hardman 08/01/08
  22.   RACE or Candidates? 17:49  |  mm 08/01/08
  23.   from crying to sobbing president? 17:53  |  ad mirrer 08/01/08
  24.   YOANY - AMEN! 18:04  |  A MAN :) 08/01/08
  25.   the democratic primaries 18:23  |  joyce brenner 08/01/08
  26.   I lost the faith 18:24  |  Trudie 08/01/08
  27.   RACE OR CANDIDATES 18:26  |  HARLEE 08/01/08
  28.   Its the media 18:50  |  David Hoffman 08/01/08
  29.   Barack Obama 18:53  |  Jack 08/01/08
  30.   victor The Racist hardman 19:09  |  Pablo B 08/01/08
  31.   facts about the presidential election 19:41  |  Bobby 08/01/08
  32.   Mark my words: Hillary will make it anyway! 19:52  |  Easy 08/01/08
  33.   Hillary out? Great news. Now, Obama Hussein Barak. Heh,heh,heh. 20:28  |  Pssd off American 08/01/08
  34.   Jack - In your dreams! 20:41  |  American Voter 08/01/08
  35.   Stephne from Geneva 20:44  |  American Voter 08/01/08
  36.   @To Harlee Cleveland Ohio 20:53  |  Shoshana Thomasson 08/01/08
  37.   To Seoul Dortmund Germany 20:59  |  Shoshana Thomasson 08/01/08
  38.   fake POA on here... 21:17  |  Pssd Off American 08/01/08
  39.   Clickfool (if that`s who you are) 21:28  |  Pssd Off American 08/01/08
  40.   Jack a racist too? 21:30  |  Pablo B 08/01/08
  41.   Clinton 1 parte 22:05  |  christine schmidt 08/01/08
  42.   clintonpart2 22:07  |  christine schmidt 08/01/08
  43.   To Steven Grumman 22:15  |  David James Vickery 08/01/08
  44.   Americans should have had enough... 22:30  |  Maureen Ann 08/01/08
  45.   vote for jerry garcia 22:43  |  ross 08/01/08
  46.   Natalllie Durson oppose Hillary; enough reason to support her 22:48  |  Jake 08/01/08
  47.   obama mistake 22:48  |  michael 08/01/08
  48.   If Hussein Obama will be nominated by D.party 22:52  |  Brian 08/01/08
  49.   David James Vickery - Post #43 22:53  |  American Voter 08/01/08
  50.   #40 pablo and racism expurgated 23:16  |  victor hardman 08/01/08
  51.   Prayer 23:16  |  Carla 08/01/08
  52.   Differences on health care issues between Obama and Clinton 23:18  |  Shoshana Thomasson 08/01/08
  53.   # 5 Shoshana 01:24  |  Dick 09/01/08
  54.   Helen 01:30  |  Jacque 09/01/08
  55.   # 37 the shoshana the thomasson 01:38  |  he he 09/01/08
  56.   A Change is Gonna Come 01:39  |  J Olson 09/01/08
  57.   # 44 Maureen Ann and AIPAC 01:43  |  Realist 09/01/08
  58.   name dont matter 01:58  |  charles biko 09/01/08
  59.   Yeah Obama - A non -polarizing politician 02:36  |  Michelle 09/01/08
  60.   Well,well Natallie.. 04:07  |  Nemesis 09/01/08
  61.   Prejudice 04:21  |  Anna 09/01/08
  62.   Crying is not the way of a president 04:54  |  John 09/01/08
  63.   May the best man or woman win 05:33  |  John Isenhower 09/01/08
  64.   Crying is not the way of the President 05:55  |  N.M 09/01/08
  65.   To Dick 08:20  |  Shoshana Thomasson 09/01/08
  66.   To he he he he 08:27  |  Shoshana Thomasson 09/01/08
  67.   ULTIMATE WEAPON: TEARS 08:52  |  indrajaya 09/01/08
  68.   AHMADINEJAD VS HILLARY 09:01  |  indrajaya 09/01/08
  69.   If N. Durson is against Hilary, I am for her 17:12  |  3-ha-ha 09/01/08
  70.   Poor choices 17:59 &