Clinton makes a comeback in New Hampshire primary

BY LETTA TAYLER | letta.tayler@newsday.com

11:57 PM EST, January 8, 2008

MANCHESTER, N.H. - The chants began shortly after the polls closed, when a giant screen beaming live news into a university auditorium showed Hillary Rodham Clinton 4 points ahead of Barack Obama in early returns.

More than two and a half hours later, when Clinton was declared the winner by The Associated Press, the chants became a roar. "Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!" supporters screamed, as they hugged, waved American flags and jumped for joy.

"I come here tonight with a very, very full heart," Clinton said, her face beaming. "We came back tonight because you spoke loudly and clearly ... and in the process I found my own voice."

"We're going all the way to the White House!" exclaimed an ecstatic Elaine Randos, 39, one of a few hundred fans gathered for Clinton's post-vote speech at Southern New Hampshire University, on the outskirts of Manchester. "Obama may be the future, but Hillary is our present."

Scores of young voters waved signs reading "Ready for Change" and sang along as a sound system blared the oldies lyrics "You ain't seen nothing yet" and "I'm a believer/I couldn't leave her if I tried."

But the crowd's competitive edge emerged minutes earlier. Responding to images of Obama declaring "When I am president" in his speech aired on the auditorium screen, the Clinton crowd erupted into a loud "Boo!"

With polls giving Obama a double-digit advantage, newscasters and pundits had devoted most of the day to Clinton's political obituary. "She is looking into the abyss and the abyss is looking back," declared Roger Simon of the influential Web site politico.com.

Clinton aides had been tense all day. But when it appeared their boss was regaining ground, some began dancing. Then the networks reported that Clinton might dip back to second place because Dartmouth College, considered an Obama stronghold, still hadn't reported its 6,000 votes -- about twice Clinton's lead at that moment -- prompting a collective groan. Yet Clinton's edge continued to widen.

"It's been a roller coaster," acknowledged Todd Dickinson, undersecretary of commerce for President Bill Clinton and one of several old hands who spent the past week here volunteering for her.

"I know what a winning feeling is," said New York State Assemb. Danny O'Donnell of Manhattan's Upper West Side, who is Rosie O'Donnell's brother and canvassed for Clinton here. "And we are having one today."