At hurdle in Iowa, Romney hears New Hampshire call

BETTENDORF, Iowa - Mitt Romney said yesterday he was excited about his prospects in Iowa's caucuses today, saying, "It's like Christmas morning and you want to run down and open the present and see what you got and hope it's not a lump of coal."

But Romney's mind was also clearly on New Hampshire, whose primary comes Tuesday. He laced into his chief rival in that state, Senator John McCain of Arizona, for voting against President Bush's tax cuts and supporting a failed plan last summer that would have allowed illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship.

For its part, McCain's camp continued its assault on Romney's foreign policy experience.

Lindsey Graham, McCain's US Senate colleague from South Carolina, called Romney "naïve" for saying that foreign policy experience isn't a prerequisite for the next president. McCain also launched a Web-only ad that slashed Romney for saying, "If you want an expert in Pakistan, I guess we could go to the State Department and pick out somebody."

"Is he serious?" the announcer asks. "We live in a dangerous world. And these are serious times. America needs a president who is serious about foreign policy."

Romney's campaign responded with a statement from US Representative Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, who has been campaigning with Romney in Iowa, that called McCain's attacks "a stretch."

A new CNN/WMUR poll showed Romney and McCain tied at 29 percent, with Rudy Giuliani in third with 12 percent.

MICHAEL LEVENSON

Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who has all but conceded today's Iowa caucuses, is ramping up for the New Hampshire primary instead.

Yesterday, he started his first TV ads in New Hampshire, calling himself a "real Democrat" and outlining his views on foreign policy and a government-run healthcare system. Radio versions began airing Tuesday, when his campaign said it sent more than 200,000 automated phone messages to Democratic and independent voters.

"People are finding that I am tough and independent-minded, and that I can't be bought or bossed," Kucinich said in a statement.

While his rivals campaign in Iowa, Kucinich plans to be in New Hampshire the rest of the week, leading up to the primary. In the CNN/WMUR poll, the Ohio congressman is in sixth place with 2 percent, far behind the leaders, Hillary Clinton with 34 percent and Barack Obama with 30 percent.

FOON RHEE

WOLFEBORO, N.H. - Republican Rudy Giuliani said yesterday he would immediately double the number of troops under US command in Afghanistan, arguing it would increase the chances of capturing Osama bin Laden and stabilize the region.

"We need to bring a surge to Afghanistan and make it effective, right now," he said.

Giuliani's campaign also plans to air a new television ad starting today on stations in New Hampshire and nationally on Fox News Channel that is designed to focus attention on what might be his trump card - his image as a leader willing to take on terrorists.

The 30-second spot invokes the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center, when Giuliani was mayor of New York City.

A narrator describes the dangers and chaos that are caused by terrorism as clips of fires, explosions, and angry mobs fill the screen.

"Osama bin Laden still making threats," the announcer says as video appears of the Al Qaeda leader, crouching and firing an assault rifle. A picture of a lone piece of wreckage standing after the trade center towers collapsed then appears before the announcer concludes, "In a world where the next crisis is a moment away, America needs a leader who's ready."

GLOBE STAFF AND ASSOCIATED PRESS