New Hampshire Today, July 16

In New Hampshire today Bill Richardson and Chris Dodd campaign in the state while all campaigns attempt to figure out some lingering questions from the weekend. Among those questions: Did John McCain leave Saturday and possibly never come back? How did Bill and Hillary Clinton's trip help? What does a new poll say about the presidential race and Senator John E. Sununu?

Dodd kicked off a two-day tour of the state yesterday with a house party in Salem. The Union Leader reports Dodd stuck to his main campaign themes of Iraq, healthcare, and public service.

Richardson will kick-off his own two days of campaigning by doing on a hour on New Hampshire Public Radio's "The Exchange".

Over the weekend there was plenty of coverage (here, here, here, and here) of Bill and Hillary Clinton's three rallies in the state Friday.

John McCain held a town hall meeting in Claremont Saturday amid questions he might drop his presidential bid due to poor fund-raising. The Globe writes that during the event McCain might be re-focusing his campaign to independents.

A new Research 2000 poll for the Concord Monitor shows Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney, once again, as their party's front-runners. The same poll also showed that if former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, would enter the US Senate race against incumbent Republican John E. Sununu she would crush him. The good news for Sununu is that Shaheen isn't in the race and he would crush those who are his declared opponents.

Calendar:

Today
- 9am, Chris Dodd, downtown walk, Berlin
- 9am, Bill Richardson, NHPR's The Exchange, Concord
- Noon, Richardson, "Women for Richardson" National Kickoff Event, Concord
- 3pm, Dodd, meeting with New Hampshire Sierra Club
- 4:15pm, Richardson, downtown walk, Portsmouth
- 5:15pm, Richardson, house party, Dover
- 5:30pm, Dodd, house party, Grantham
- 7pm, Richardson, house party, Rochester

Tomorrow:
- Richardson campaigns in Wolfeboro, Conway, and Ossipee