Clinton puts caucuses in rearview mirror

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Pay no attention to that third-place finish in Iowa. The real contest starts now.

That was the word from Hillary Rodham Clinton after she landed in New Hampshire early Friday and immediately set to work reviving her yearlong presidential campaign.

Leading a rally in a chilly airplane hangar in Nashua, and following up with a news conference at a coffee shop here, the New York senator insisted she remained the most formidable candidate. But there were some concessions to the verdict rendered by Iowa Democrats.

She conceded her campaign had erred, failing to attract younger voters who are crucial to a winning coalition. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, for that matter, also surpassed her when it came to women voters. Clinton aides say they will do more to expand her base of support, though it is unclear how they intend to peel off the under-30 set that seems to have gravitated toward Obama.

One weapon in Clinton’s arsenal: her daughter. Chelsea Clinton, 27, accompanied the candidate Friday and is becoming a more frequent sight on the campaign trail. She waves pleasantly to crowds and shakes hands on the rope lines. At the coffee shop, the erstwhile first daughter, normally mute in public forums, chatted amiably with reporters.

Bitterness seemed to creep in when Hillary Clinton talked about the Iowa results. She had campaigned in the state for months, spent millions there and ceaselessly thanked Iowans for investing so much time in vetting the presidential candidates.

But in New Hampshire, she spoke ruefully about the anti-democratic features of the caucuses: that Iowans living out of state can’t participate and that anyone working a night shift is also excluded.

She said that, by contrast, in New Hampshire’s Jan. 8 primary, “you’re not disenfranchised if you work at night. You actually can come out and vote. You’re not disenfranchised if you’re not in the state. You can actually send in an absentee ballot.”

Her campaign chair, Terry McAuliffe, captured the mood when he boarded the chartered plane leaving Des Moines after the caucuses and announced: “On to New Hampshire!”

She is still Hillary Clinton -- “an institution in many ways,” David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, said in an interview.

McAuliffe said Clinton had raised in excess of $100 million, making her viable for the full campaign season.

In advance of the New Hampshire primary, Clinton is reworking her message. She said she would take more questions from crowds and would encourage voters to look deeper into Obama’s record.

A person who doesn’t like to admit weakness, Clinton made a reference to perceptions that she’s cold, distant.

Rattling off the established politicians who support her, Clinton said they also seem to like her as a person.

“I know that’s to some people’s amazement,” she said.

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Debates today

The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates will meet today in back-to-back debates at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. The forums, each scheduled for 90 minutes, will be broadcast by ABC, beginning at 4 p.m. Pacific time with the GOP debate.