"Yes We Can"
NASHUA -- Barack Obama tonight applauded rival Hillary Clinton for her narrow win in the New Hampshire primary, but cautioned that a long contest lies ahead and that he's ready for the fight.
"I am still fired up and ready to go," Obama said, echoing a campaign cheer. "I want to congratulate Sen. Clinton on a hard-fought victory here in New Hampshire. She did an outstanding job."
Obama, with his wife, Michelle, by his side in a high school gym, sought to recast himself as as the underdog, readily passing the mantle of frontrunner to Clinton.
"For most of this campaign," he said, " we were far behind. We always knew it would be a steep climb."
Obama went into the evening's contest the presumed victor, hot off a big win in Iowa and with statewide polls over the last few days showing him leading by as much as double-digits. But Clinton held the state's Democratic establishment in her firm grasp, and with backers like NH First Lady Susan Lynch and Bill Shaheen, the husband of former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, she had the party's machine working at her behest.
The contest heads next to South Carolina, where Obama is polling well -- and appears to be garnering solid support from the state's large African American community. The contest could see-saw there with an Obama win, injecting ever more drama into race already steeped in it. Either way, a fierce battle between the two-frontrunners will continue until Feb. 5 -- or perhaps beyond.
Obama tonight was greeted by a stunned but loving audience. He saluted the entire Democratic field, saying, "All are patriots who serve this country honorably."
His remarks were punctuated frequently by calls from his supporters: "You're the one," a man screamed from the audience. "You're our quarterback," yelled another. Together, the crowd chanted, "We want change, we want change."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Obama, who was introduced by U.S. Reps. Paul Hodes and Carol Shea Porter, pushed the notion that his campaign is a movement, not just a political exercise. And as he has done throughout his campaign, he stressed that his candidacy is not about him, but about the supporters, volunteers and staffers who have "believed in this journey."
"Tonight belongs to you," he said.
Like a preacher, he intoned, "Yes we can," to his calls for justice and equality, opportunity and prosperity. He referenced also, as he does often, Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy. And he looked forward to the South Carolina and Nevada contests, noting that this campaign is also about the struggles of a textile worker who lives in Spartanburg, S.C., or the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas.
"There has never been anything false about hope," he said.