STEVE INSKEEP, host:
It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
And I'm Renee Montagne.
Consider for a moment what can happen in a day. Twenty-four hours ago, Iowa voters hadn't even gathered for their caucuses, now they've spoken and Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee are the runaway winners.
This morning, the candidates are already in New Hampshire campaigning, the next stop in this year's break net presidential campaign. And that's where we've caught up with our correspondents, starting with NPR's Don Gonyea who's traveling with the Obama campaign.
And Don, tell us where you are exactly and what the mood is there.
Don Gonyea: I'm in an airplane hangar in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On the eastern side of the state, on the water. And Senator Obama just concluded what is his first rally, his first speech. He's stuck to very similar themes. Lots of talks about change and lots of talk about hope and a pitch to independents and Republicans and undecided. He said Iowans began something last night, now New Hampshire voters can continue that on Tuesday.
MONTAGNE: Well, let's listen to a little bit of tape of Barack Obama.
Senator BARACK OBAMA (Democrat, Illinois; Presidential Candidate): If there are any folks here who are still undecided about who they are going to vote for, then I would like you to fill out, if I'm sufficiently persuasive here today, one of these supporter cards -how many people here are still undecided about who to vote for? We got some live ones here.
(Soundbite of laughter)
MONTAGNE: And Don, what are the prospects for Obama there in New Hampshire? That is, can he turn his Iowa win into a series of victories en route to the nomination?
GONYEA: Well, in New Hampshire it's a very different place from Iowa. And it's tempting to suddenly think of him as the frontrunner coming out of Iowa because he won so handily there, but poll show. You know, it is a very, very tight race here. And the other thing is, Iowans, talking to people - I'm sorry, New Hampshire voters, talking to people here, say that, you know, these are Obama supporters for the most part, but they don't take their cues from Iowa. They recognize that New Hampshire voters will make an independent decision here.
Now, the things that Obama's political director David Axelrod is saying, bode well for New Hampshire was just the enthusiasm out of Iowa. It even exceeded their expectations. And young people turned out. And independents turned out for Obama. And they think those are two things that will play very well and help his prospects here in New Hampshire.
MONTAGNE: Don, stay with us. I want to bring another voice into this conversation. NPR's David Greene is following Hillary Clinton's campaign and he's, of course, also there in New Hampshire already, this morning. Good morning, David.
DAVID GREENE: Good morning, Renee - And also outside an airplane hangar. I guess airplane hangar are popular this morning.
MONTAGNE: Well, I guess they're all arriving, theoretically. Oh, so Hillary Clinton came in third in Iowa behind Obama and edged out by John Edwards. Clearly not the results that her campaign was hoping for.
GREENE: Not at all. And they really want to turn things around and get headlines going more in their direction. Hillary Clinton landed quickly, came to this airplane hangar in Nashua, up here with her daughter Chelsea Clinton and former President Bill Clinton who got quite a large applause from the crowd here. And she even used the line that she doesn't often use in her speeches. She said that we've learned before that it can take a Clinton to clean up after a Bush and that that might have to happen again.
MONTAGNE: Now you have some tape of her speaking to her supporters. Let's take a listen.
Senator HILLARY CLINTON (Democrat, New York; Presidential Candidate): People who know as I do that New Hampshire voters are going to be weighing and assessing everything in the next five days. It's a short period of time but it's enough time.
Time for people to say, wait a minute. Number one, who will be the best president for our country on day one, walking into the Oval Office, after you're sworn in on January 20th, 2009?
MONTAGNE: David, following this loss in Iowa, is the Clinton campaign changing its strategy, do you imagine, there in New Hampshire?
GREENE: Well, the message doesn't seem to be changing very much. The theme is still experience, like Hillary Clinton says that she is the best, the change agent, because of the experience that she has.. But this is a different state and it's a different time frame. I mean, as Hillary Clinton said, she has five days now, and she has essentially - looking at these five days as very crucial to turn things around. And I think the language we just heard her saying, wait a minute, very important. What she's telling New Hampshire voters is wait a minute, don't necessarily take a look at what happened in Iowa. You be independent thinkers. Don't take advice from another state and let's start all over. As one Clinton aide put it, let's push the reset button in New Hampshire.
MONTAGNE: Okay. Hold on there. Let's turn now to the Republicans. NPR's Scott Horsley is traveling with Mitt Romney's campaign and he joins us from Portsmouth.
Scott, you've been out with the Romney campaign this morning. How's the second place finish in Iowa sitting with them? Big disappointment.
SCOTT HORSLEY: Well, certainly a disappointment, although I believe they beat Barack Obama to the Portsmouth airport by a number of hours.
MONTAGNE: That's something.
HORSLEY: The Romney campaign touched down about 3:30 this morning in Portsmouth. I think former Governor Romney couldn't wait to get into New Hampshire, into New England. It was a very New England scene when he arrived. There were - there was a little ice on the tarmac and Dunkin Donuts waiting for him in the hangar. And he has said that he is going to face a very different opponent here in New Hampshire than he did in Iowa where he finished second behind Mike Huckabee. Here, he expects his main challenger to be Arizona Senator John McCain. And he promised to go aggressively against Senator McCain and that started as early as this morning when he said to reporters that the message he draws from Iowa is that voters are looking for change. And he said very pointedly that there's no way Senator McCain can represent himself as the candidate of change in Washington when he is Washington.
MONTAGNE: Scott, what can you tell us about Mike Huckabee, though? How, now with his big victory in Iowa, how do you think he's likely to be received there in New Hampshire?
HORSLEY: Well, that's going to be interesting to see. Judd Greg, the former governor and now senator of New Hampshire was with former governor McCain - former governor Romney as he visited a restaurant here in Portsmouth this morning. And Judd Greg said he really doesn't think the Christian right will play the same powerful role here in New Hampshire that they did in Iowa where our poll show about 60 percent of the Republican voters were self-described Evangelicals and, of course, they vote very heavily for Mike Huckabee. So Mitt Romney does not really see Mike Huckabee as his big opponent, at least here in New Hampshire. He said he might bring that same evangelical force to bear in some other states, but here in New Hampshire (unintelligible) John McCain.
MONTAIGNE: We lost you a little bit there, Scott Horsley. But I'm going to turn to Don Gonyea right now and ask you a general question. Is a victory in New Hampshire make or break for any one of these candidates?
GONYEA: Well, it's certainly very important for Hillary Clinton, given the third place finish in Iowa and John Edwards needs to continue to be competitive and stay in the game. Clearly, a candidate like Barack Obama, he's got money, he's got organization, he's got a win under his belt. Not as critical for him.
MONTAIGNE: And, Don, you may still be speaking but we seem to be losing you there but that's okay. I'm going to turn to David Greene and ask you another question here about the Hillary Clinton campaign. Bill Clinton lined up to play a big role in his wife's campaign over the next four days. If it is somewhat of a make or break race there, what affect is Bill Clinton's participation likely to have?
GREENE: Well, it's not clear. And certainly, Renee, I think it's a bit of a risk because one thing that you heard from Iowa voters, I think, is that they don't want the status quo. If Bill Clinton is a reminder that this will be bringing a family back into the White House that was there before, certainly a risk, I think, Hillary Clinton is hoping that Bill Clinton is a reminder of good economic times and then her suggestion is that she can bring those back. She talked about today that the next year is going to be very tough. She believes, economically for the country, and there was her husband next to her, someone who balanced the budget, might be a reminder of what she hopes she would be able to do as president.
MONTAGNE: Thank you all very much for joining us. From New Hampshire, David Greene with the Clinton campaign; NPR's Don Gonyea with the Barack Obama campaign; and NPR's Scott Horsley with the Romney campaign. Again, they spoke to us all from New Hampshire where the candidates are this morning after the Iowa caucuses.
You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.