MANCHESTER, N.H. - Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney, fighting to recover from tough setbacks in the Iowa caucuses, both launched fresh attacks against their chief rivals yesterday, wielding new messages tailored for the Granite State's more moderate and more secular voters.
After a stinging third-place finish Thursday, Clinton vowed to distinguish herself from her chief Democratic rivals, Iowa victor Barack Obama and runner-up John Edwards. Romney, meanwhile, engaged in a pitched three-way battle with former governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas - the Republican winner in Iowa - and Senator John McCain, who has staked his candidacy on taking Tuesday's primary.
Clinton - whose husband, former President Clinton, was called the "Comeback Kid" for following his 1992 Iowa defeat with a strong showing in New Hampshire - declared that she would be "drawing contrasts between what I've done for 35 years and what my leading opponents have done."
Clinton told voters that, unlike Obama, she could withstand the scrutiny of a general election campaign.
"Of all the people running for president, I've been the most vetted, the most investigated, and my goodness," she said with a laugh, "the most innocent, it turns out."
Speaking to reporters later, she said: "It's hard to know exactly where [Obama] stands, and people need to ask that. I think everybody is supposed to be vetted and tested."
Yet her speech, delivered less than 13 hours after the caucus, was remarkable for the number of new elements introduced in it - including an explicit reference to the possibility of another terrorist attack. The 40-minute speech touched on so many themes that it seemed as if Clinton had not yet settled on her fundamental argument on why New Hampshire voters should disregard her resounding Iowa defeat.
Obama, who won the Democratic caucuses in Iowa with help from thousands of first-time voters, received a conquering hero's welcome in a midday appearance at Concord High School, where he was cheered by more than 1,000 students and residents in the packed gymnasium.
"In four days, New Hampshire," Obama declared, "it is your turn to stand up for change!" The crowd roared its approval.
When Obama asked the audience to raise a hand if they have not decided for whom to vote, dozens of hands went up, however. Obama playfully taunted them: "We're coming after you!"
Across the state, thousands of voters made their way to rallies, walking on a bright and cold sunny day to hear candidates make their pitches. At nearly every event, audiences yesterday heard variations on an ongoing theme: change.
Obama, a senator from Illinois, vowed to bring a generational and political change to the White House. Clinton, who represents New York in the Senate, declared she had the experience to bring about change. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, said he would change the Washington political culture, and McCain, an Arizona senator, said he already has been an agent for change.
In his appearances, Obama did not respond directly to Clinton's tougher attacks on him, sticking to the bedrock message of national unity and uplift that carried him to victory in Iowa. But he warned his supporters in Concord to gird themselves for new criticism of his campaign aimed at his experience.
"Certainly you'll be hearing over the next several days not to believe your own eyes, not to believe your own gut, your own instincts," Obama said. "People will be saying: 'Yeah, I know people were really feeling good yesterday, really inspired. But you know what: Obama has not been in Washington long enough.' "
Yet Obama seemed to try to insulate himself not only against Clinton's attacks, but also to prepare for a challenge he could face from McCain in the sprint toward Tuesday's primary. He promised to offer "straight talk instead of spin and PR," borrowing a catchphrase from McCain, a chief competitor for the state's independent voters, who can vote in either primary.
Edwards, the former North Carolina senator and millionaire lawyer who edged out Clinton for second place in Iowa, does not have the financial resources of Clinton or Obama, but he tried to compensate with rhetorical firepower at his rallies. He promised to fight what he called corporate greed and to work for nationwide healthcare.
"I am the candidate who will fight with every fiber of my being, every single step of the way, for you, for your children, and for your grandchildren," Edwards said to an early-morning crowd of supporters in Manchester.
Romney spent the day trying to shore up his support in New Hampshire, now a state he must win after losing in Iowa.
Romney cast himself as a fresh-faced agent of change, but he also continued his campaign's attacks on his Republican opponents. In doing so, he seemed to ignore the commentary of some political analysts, who said the strategy had backfired in Iowa.
"There's no way Senator McCain is going to be able to come to New Hampshire and say he's the candidate that represents change and he'll change Washington," Romney told reporters in Portsmouth. "He is Washington."
McCain responded by saying his support of the US strategy of sending additional combat troops to Iraq showed that he was willing to be an agent of change.
"I'm most proud of the change I brought about in Iraq that saved American lives," McCain said.
Romney, a wealthy businessman, also tried to explain to reporters why he lost Iowa to Huckabee, a Baptist minister from a small Southern state who had less money to spend and a far weaker political organization.
"Mike had a terrific base as a minister - drew on that base, got a great deal of support. It was a wonderful strategy that he pursued effectively," Romney said.
"I don't think that's a strategy that's going to work in every state," he said. "Given the fact that I was an unknown governor from Massachusetts - the bluest of blue states - the only prospect for someone like myself was to let people know who I was through our campaign in the way that I did."
Meanwhile, an ebullient Huckabee appeared yesterday afternoon at New England College in Henniker, rocking the gymnasium as he played bass with a warm-up band. After three songs, during which Huckabee pitched and swayed, he asked, "Do you really think they have as much fun at Hillary's rallies?" The crowd cheered.
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who bypassed Iowa, addressed a packed American Legion post in Salem, pledging that his campaign is "going to do well" on Tuesday. He touted his strategy to reporters en route to an event in Nashua: "Nobody is going to win all these primaries. It's who is going to win the most. Right now we are ahead in more states than anyone."
As the political campaign shifted to New Hampshire, two Democrats - Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Senator Joe Biden of Delaware - dropped out of the presidential race after poor showings in Iowa.
But Fred Thompson, the former senator and Tennessee Republican who finished third in Iowa, said yesterday that he intends to stay in the race. Thompson, who has focused his strategy on Southern states, has run only a marginal campaign in New Hampshire and used an appearance on CNN to challenge Huckabee and Romney on illegal immigration.
Mocking Romney's shifting stances on the issue, Thompson called him the candidate of change. "He changes his position from time to time on it."
Today Republican and Democrats will participate in back-to-back televised debates sponsored by ABC News and WMUR-TV. Held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, the invited Democrats are Clinton, Obama, Edwards, and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico; the hosts excluded Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.
On the Republican side, the invitees are Giuliani, Huckabee, McCain, Romney, Representative Ron Paul of Texas, and Thompson.
The Republican debate begins at 7 p.m. and lasts for 90 minutes, followed by a 15-minute break, after which the Democrats will debate. The Republicans debate again on Sunday.
Marcella Bombardieri, Sasha Issenberg, Bryan Bender, and Michael Levenson of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Material from the Associated Press was used. Kranish can be reached at kranish@globe.com.
