In New Hampshire, GOP Race Gets Tighter

Polls Show Romney And Giuliani Neck-And-Neck; McCain Close Behind

(WASHINGTONPOST.COM)  By Michael D. Shear

For months, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has owned this state. A next-door neighbor with a vacation home here, Romney has had a double-digit lead over his fellow Republicans in the nation's first primary state, a hallmark of his highly disciplined campaign for the presidency.

Now, that lead has all but evaporated. The latest polls show him running neck-and-neck with former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has beefed up his campaign staff and flooded the state with direct mail to make up for his infrequent visits. And a revived Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the darling of New Hampshire in 2000, in nipping at both of their heels.

Romney's drop, which has come despite him spending millions of dollars on television commercials here and years building a ground operation, has turned the Granite State into a tossup three months before the voting takes place.

"It's more competitive than people realize on the Republican side," said Jennifer Donahue, a senior adviser for political affairs at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. "First place is up for grabs with an edge towards Romney. You have McCain and [former Arkansas governor Mike] Huckabee in pretty good shape to be the alternative."

Romney no longer has the airwaves to himself. McCain has launched his first television ads, one of which ends with the candidate invoking New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die" motto. Rivals say they expect Giuliani's first commercials here within weeks. Former actor and senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) has slowly begun assembling an operation and now has three paid staffers in the state. Huckabee, desperate for money to boost his effort, is emphasizing "authenticity" and hoping that it still counts.
With summer gone, the sniping in New Hampshire has intensified, particularly between Romney and Giuliani.

Late last week, as both men crisscrossed the state is search of hands to shake and babies to hug, their campaigns clashed on taxes, one of the biggest issues for Republicans and independents in New Hampshire, where residents pay no income or sales taxes.

Romney accused Giuliani of lacking seriousness on spending because of his opposition to a presidential line-item veto and support for a commuter tax. Giuliani's campaign hit back within hours, with backer Paul Cellucci, also a former Massachusetts governor, attacking Romney for not lowering taxes during four years in office, and saying that "there appears to be some desperation" in his campaign.

The next day, Romney's campaign continued the fight, alleging in a release that "Mayor Giuliani sued Republicans to keep $360 million commuter tax in place." Giuliani's team responded with a release about "Romney's Taxachusetts hypocrisy."

Romney's backers dismiss the importance of his dwindling lead here.
"Till the leaves fall and we've plowed a couple of times, the numbers don't matter," said Tom Rath, a senior Romney adviser.

Romney is counting on a one-two punch that would begin with a victory in the Iowa caucuses just after New Year's Day and continue with a win in New Hampshire, providing momentum to boost his standing nationally.

Advisers say Romney will continue to stress that he is "not a Washington creature" and to talk about his experience in the private sector -- qualities they say appeal to Republicans here as well as to the 40 percent of New Hampshire voters who do not declare a party preference but are allowed to vote in either primary.

In other words, the very voters that Giuliani is aiming to win over.
"The people of New Hampshire tend to be very independent, and they make their own decisions," Giuliani told reporters in Manchester last week. "All we can do is continue to campaign here and try to get our message out here and hope we do really well."

Roger Bissonnette, 54, a retired contractor from Manchester, is an undecided Republican.

"I like John McCain," he said at breakfast at the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester on Wednesday. Citing McCain's determination to finish the job in Iraq, Bissonnette said, "I think he deserves a shot at it."

But he quickly added: "I like Rudy, too. Rudy would be a good choice, too. It's a tossup. What he did in New York after 9/11 ... showed real leadership."

Bissonnette is the type of voter McCain is hoping to woo away from the front-runners as he prays for a shocking victory that will resuscitate his struggling campaign.

McCain's advisers acknowledge that it is here -- the scene of his upset victory over George W. Bush seven years ago -- that he must make a dramatic statement. In 2000, aides note, he raised more than $2 million the day after winning the New Hampshire primary.

Said an aide for one current rival: "McCain is absolutely formidable. This guy won this primary. He has the blueprint for success."
McCain's challenge is to again attract the independents who flocked to him in 2000. Surveys show that those voters overwhelmingly oppose the war in Iraq, a position at odds with McCain's insistence that the war continue.

The only Republican candidate in agreement with those independents is Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.), whose long-shot campaign now has $5 million in the bank. His libertarian philosophy is a good fit for some in New Hampshire who take the state's motto to heart. The Free State Project, a group whose aim is to attract 20,000 "liberty-loving" people to move to the state, features Paul prominently on its Web site.

In the latest poll by the University of New Hampshire, Paul earned 4 percent of support, behind former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), who has since said he will not be a presidential candidate in 2008.
Still, advisers to all the presidential campaigns say they do not quite know what to expect when primary day arrives.

"There's no manual written for what we are doing," said Brent Seaborn, strategy director for the Giuliani campaign, which has assembled a team of a dozen operatives in New Hampshire and has been aggressively targeting likely voters with fliers. "You can't rip a page out of a strategy book."

Staff writer Perry Bacon Jr. and washingtonpost.com staff writer Ed O'Keefe contributed to this report.

[pepperwood2]

WASHINGTON %u2014 Hillary Clinton claims Sandy Berger has no official role" in her campaign after Republican lawmakers blasted her Monday upon learning that Clinton''s campaign is taking advice from the former top aide to President Bill Clinton who admitted stealing classified documents and disposing them.

Isn''t this the same joker that was stealing classified documents and then was caught on video camera pulling down his pants and sticking them under his underwear.

Probably disappointed that Craig - The Leg - or Tom Dee Leg was not around. I guess Hillary started Cackling when she heard about it.

Interesting - No Role for this Model & believe it or not - NO PAY either - hmmmmmm????

Maybe these Classified Documents will resurface as did the Travel Vouchures that Hillary conveniently lost for a time.

[prinzowhales]

Perhaps this article might help anyone who is undecided about which Republican mainstream candidate to vote for...

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/10/08/another-toe-tapping-republican-caught-in-sting-ends-senate-bid/

Cheers!

[mping001]

Bush made teams too. Homeland Security. The League of Extraordinary Attorney Generals, oh and millions of Americans who disapprove of him and his policies. Who better to carry on tradition and finish sucking the life out of our country than Romney and Rudy. VOTE RON PAUL WAKE UP AMERICA!

[socrates392]

"GOP Race Gets Tighter"

These days when you see the words "GOP" and "tighter" in the same sentence you have to wonder if it''''s another story about Craig...or Foley...or Haggard.....

Posted by SgtRDS at 09:42 PM : Oct 08, 2007

Ha! Good one! But you forgot David Vitter!

[dutchfarmer]

Vote for Constitutional honor. Vote for Ron Paul.

[sgtrds]

"GOP Race Gets Tighter"

These days when you see the words "GOP" and "tighter" in the same sentence you have to wonder if it''s another story about Craig...or Foley...or Haggard.....

[prinzowhales]

Continue the war! Vote for Romney!
Continue the war! Vote for Giuliani! (and do it while dressed up like a girl)
Continue the war! Vote for Thompson!
Continue the war! Vote for Hucksterbee!
Continue the war! Vote for McCain!

How''s NAFTA treating you? Like those open borders? How bout getting rid of the Constitution...that "G-- D--- piece of paper?!" Then get out there and vote for the mainstream War Pig Republican candidates....
.....
or, you can vote for Ron Paul...

[satxfreedom]

www.TrueWorldHistory.info

[hwy71so]

I hope Thompson kicks it in here soon. These three; Guiliani, McCain and Romney just aren''t the ticket for the GOP.

I''d gladly take Hunter or F. Thompson over any of the others. I think G, Mac, Rom are in it for self more than what they can do for their country. Not much better than the libs.

[mike71067]

I''ll vote for either of those guys if it would guarantee keeping that two-faced witch out of office.

[hwy71so]

Wow,

You guys don''t really believe all this nonsense you''re constantly spouting do you? I''m thinking you''re doing it to stir up trouble. You could care less who the front runners in the elections are.

[perception5]

Not sure what polls America''s corrupt liberal MSM wolfpack press is looking at. According to the last poll taken last week Mitt Romney is up 8% from his nearest opponent. In a poll just released in Iowa Mitt''s up 11% over his nearest opponent Fred Thompson.


In my view there are only two candidates that can do that, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. Both "moderate" conservatives and both owe their political careers to Democrat voters who elected them both.

I like Mitt Romney because of his strong cross-functional experiences private sector, non-profit, and public. In each sector Mitt Romney created great "teams" to solve the problems that each had.

Mitt may well be the most qualified candidate to ever run for president.

It is time for major change and someone "completely" new. For me Mitt Romney is that person/candidate.

That''s why I''m voting for Mitt Romney !

[pepperwood2]

Hear yee Hear yee! This is a job for The dynamic Duo - Al & Jesse!

New York %u2014 Two black women who worked as security supervisors at Madison Square Garden are set to hit their former employer with a discrimination lawsuit, claiming they were denied advancement while young white interns who slept with management quickly rose to the top.

"It''s definitely a boys'' club there," charged Diane Henson, 50, who said she worked at the Garden for 11 years only to get pushed out this summer once she complained about the unfair treatment of blacks, and women in particular.

[brettrix]

Check out this fun Ron Paul video - you will become a believer (remove spaces)

www . youtube . com/watch?v=FG_HuFtP8w8

most of the Ron Paul haters must be Rudy''s paid campaign staff - If they ever were to research the man and his viewpoints they would understand that he is exactly what the GOP stands for

[brettrix]

Brief Overview of Congressman Paul%u2019s Record:

He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.

He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

[neobrian-2009]

I can hear it now,.." A Mr Paul fillet" " Crispy or Crunchy Sir ?,.And do you want fries ?" "He`s crispy enough ma''am,thank you,.."

[nh4ronpaul]

Ron Paul is the only candidate who can unite R, L, I, and D against Hillary. Otherwise, if the RINOs nominate Rudy or Mitt they will just be handing it to Hillary. But you know, sometimes I think they don''t care since there isn''t much difference in these elitist controlled candidates. The point of the Rockefeller controlled government and media is to keep someone they cannot control out, such as Ron Paul. This is why he gets little press when he deserves more.
I am sick of news shows making a mountain out of every little comment Mitt makes. Mitt is an empty suit. Yesterday he had 50 people watching him in person. (I was there) That same day, Ron had 1500.

[tnt1954]

some people wish to go free from freedom.
ya can''t eat freedom, in fact it takes
a lotta time to grow food. what has new hampshire
got to sell? i was there at crawford''s notch, it
was 10 degrees there in january, and we saw
the highest waterfall in the state. we stopped
in to see a bear fair, by a little grocery store.
there were hardly any people in the state.
i guess they all got killed, dying free.
got in each others way. they illegalized
red lights and lines down the middle of the road.
they just ''did their thing''. and that is why
hardly anyone lives there.

[socrates392]

Posted by thirty3na3rd at 08:01 PM : Oct 07, 2007

If the media is "dropping the ball," why did they invite Ron Paul to speak in the situation room? Seems like he is getting press coverage to me . . . There is a whole story to him on this website too . . . Besides, who needs actual stories, when they have people like you to post campaign jingos all over the internet!

[thirty3na3rd]

Ron Paul''s recent interviews in the CNN Situation Room were fantastic. He is right about our need to insist that our federal government obey the Constitution. It is unbelievable we have someone of his caliber in the race and he gets as little media coverage as he does. The media is dropping the ball big time.