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New Hampshire voters as varied as candidates

BY LETTA TAYLER | letta.tayler@newsday.com

12:08 AM EST, January 9, 2008

MANCHESTER, N.H. - In Tuesday's dramatic primary contest, the voices of the voters at the Jewell Street Middle School here were as varied as the candidates:

Mary Scott, an Independent who generally votes Republican but also would consider a conservative Democrat, said she opted for Mitt Romney over John McCain "at the very last minute" because she believed McCain had been soft on tax cuts and on immigration. "Romney has always been strong on those two issues. But with McCain, it was too little, too late," said Scott, who declined to give her age.

Courtney Menswar, 20, a student at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., said she chose Hillary Rodham Clinton over Barack Obama after hearing former President Bill Clinton say Obama lacked clarity and hearing candidate Clinton speak with detail on her positions. "Bill Clinton was right when he said if you listen to Obama long enough, you realize you don't really know where he stands on a lot of issues," she said.

Two friends underscored the competing lures of experience and change.

"Obama went to Harvard. He's a smart guy. He speaks well," said Tom Burke, 18, a student at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord.

When reminded that Clinton also was an articulate Ivy-Leaguer, he said: "I almost voted for Hillary. It was a 50-50 tossup when I went in. But in the end I think Obama is more of a change."

His friend, Josh Haarlander, 18, of New Hampshire Community Technical College in Manchester, said, "She's been there and she was probably one of the best first ladies. And Bill would be there too ... so it's almost like a one-two punch."

Henry Sliwerski, 78, a Vietnam and Korean War veteran who usually votes Republican but did cast his ballot for John F. Kennedy, said he would have voted for Rudy Giuliani had he campaigned more in the state.

"I was leaning toward him but I felt a little slighted that he didn't spend more time here," he said. "When these people take us lightly, it doesn't go over well."