Undecided voters give Obama hope in 2008 race

[ClarkUSA]

ALTON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - David Tothill is neither a Republican nor a Democrat but he knows what he wants in
the 2008 White House race -- a fresh face.

"I like to believe that we can have a leader whose family name is not Bush or Clinton," said the 53-year-old retired software
engineer after hearing Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama speak. "I like what Obama had to say."

The first-term Illinois senator is counting on voters like Tothill, one of many undecided independent voters who can cast
ballots in either the Republican or Democratic primary in the influential early voting state of New Hampshire, well ahead
of the November 2008 election...

"He (Obama) is the new face. I think New Hampshire voters respond to that," said Boston University politics professor Thomas
Whalen.

"He doesn't seem like someone who goes by the traditional script. He's actually saying things that are different and New
Hampshire voters, typically younger voters, respond to that," Whalen said.... On the campaign trail in New Hampshire this
week, Obama drew large audiences and seemed to be connecting.

"I feel the hopefulness that Barack Obama has," said Chris Conlon, 39, of Pittsfield. "He's inspired me to ... really reach out
and volunteer and talk to my neighbors a little bit more. That's not politics as usual."

"He listens to people," added Francis Warman, 64, a psychologist from Hopkinton.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071121/pl_nm/usa_politics_obama_dc


NH Independents - who make up the majority of voters in the state - will decide who wins on Jan. 8, not Democrats. Since
Obama is the candidate with the greatest crossover appeal in a state that allows indies to vote in the primary, he probably
has more support than the current crop of state polls that only sample only Democrats.