Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton Slug It Out in New Hampshire

Today was one of the most extraordinary days I’ve spent covering politics.

I started the day in a crowd of some 400 outside of Lebanon’s City Hall, the fire marshal having limited entry. Many politicians freak out when they realize potential voters are going to go home disappointed.

Not Obama. He grabbed a hand-held microphone, climbed some stone steps, addressed the crowd and then shook hands for 15 minutes. It was a spectacular move.

I missed Hillary when she welled up but saw her in Salem and at her evening pep rally in Manchester. A low point here was getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic leading to the Highlander for the event. I left my car in front of a Chinese restaurant and walked a mile through the snow. I got near the site just ahead of the Clinton motorcade, but then heard sirens. I jumped onto the median strip, waded through calf-high snow and saw Clinton speed by accompanied by police.

At the rally, Hillary Clinton shouted and hollered. Her Chicago accent appeared to come back and she seemed to have a hint of Mayor Daley, the elder in her voice.Here’s my news report.