ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
Audie, Senator McCain didn't pay much mind to Iowa. What are the expectations for him in New Hampshire?
AUDIE CORNISH: Well, that's - he didn't pay much attention to Iowa because its expectations are so high in New Hampshire. He really believes and thinks he needs to come in first here. He won the primary here in 2000, and his latest ad implored voters to give him a second chance. And he's also spent a lot of time in South Carolina. He's also unveiled a new ad in Michigan. So McCain is not his - I get the sense that he's pleased that he's made movement in Iowa and he did visit there yesterday as a show to say, yes, I'm paying attention, but he's really focused his effort on New Hampshire and beyond.
SIEGEL: And what do his efforts produce in the way of poll numbers in New Hampshire nowadays?
CORNISH: Well, at this point, he's certainly the chief rival or competitor to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. In some polls, he's certainly pulled ahead of Romney, and it's very, very close. Right now, both of these candidates are looking to get the support of that great swath of undeclared voters who call themselves independents here in New Hampshire - 40 percent of the electorate. And this is a lot of the same community that supported McCain in 2000. And he's hoping that they'll give him another chance.
SIEGEL: In Iowa, Senator McCain appears to be running in the teens - or the low teens, perhaps, according to the gross numbers and the polls that we've seen.