Obama: "In Four Days..."
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- Less than 24 hours after winning the Iowa caucuses, Barack Obama was aggressively campaigning in New Hampshire. Trying to build on the momentum of his win, Obama said the American people have started to implement change that he calls for, but the responsibility now falls to New Hampshire.
"If you give me the same chance that Iowa gave me last night I truly believe that I will be the president of the United States of America," Obama said.
Despite the fact that he is obviously tired and his voice is hoarse, Obama's spirits seem to be high. He joked with the crowd in Portsmouth, "This feels good, just like I imagined it when I was talking to my kindergarten teacher."
Obama told the crowd about a precinct that he briefly visited last night in Iowa. He spoke about senior citizens and young people who were caucusing for the first time.
"Young people answered the call yesterday all across Iowa. I want high school students to vote," Obama told a predominantly young crowd at a rally in Concord.
The campaign estimates that as many age 17-29 voters participated in the Iowa caucuses as those 65 and older. According to a campaign release, in previous years, senior citizen participation in the Iowa caucuses was five times greater than younger voters.
Obama's message also focused on hope, a key theme throughout his campaign. He said a "little dose of hope" helped him reach personal success and he anticipates that hope will help him win the presidency.
"Hope is what I saw in the eyes of the folks going to caucus last night," Obama said, "If you ware willing to reach for what you know in your gut is possible. If you believe, as I believe, that we have to reach out and give the next generation the same chances that somebody gave us, if you believe in keeping the dream alive for those who still hunger for opportunity and still thirst for justice, then I am absolutely convinced that we will win the New Hampshire primary in four days."
Between his rallies in Portsmouth and Concord, Obama made a brief stop at a coffee shop in Dover. Customers were surprised to see Obama just a day after his Iowa win. "I am here pretty much everyday checking my e-mail and today all of a sudden it got very exciting," Aaron Katz, a local musician, said. Katz said he is wavering between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.