US Election 2008 Blog

By Laura Smith-Spark, BBC News
Manchester, New Hampshire

Want to meet the next president of the United States? Move to New Hampshire and you stand a good chance.

In a country of some 300 million people, the state’s 1.3 million residents are perhaps the most heavily-canvassed and targeted voters of any in the nation, bar Iowa.

Last week each party’s candidates flocked to New Hampshire for the latest televised debates, as they seek the all-important nomination to run for president in 2008.

And over the coming months, the contenders will court the state like no other, descending on it for house parties, 4 July parades and rallies - each time seeking vital “face time” with potential voters, in a strategy known as “retail politics”.

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DesMoinesRegister.com

Dubuque, Ia. - U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday launched what he touted as one of the largest and earliest nationwide door-to-door efforts in presidential campaign history.

“It is a testimony to the degree to which people, as I travel all across the country, are so invested in change,” the Illinois Democrat said. “They want to turn the page and create a new kind of politics.”

More than 200 people in Dubuque volunteered to go door to door for Obama. At least 38 groups - more than 1,500 volunteers overall - took part in Iowa. The event, “Walk for Change,” attracted more than 10,000 volunteers, located in all 50 states, aides said.

Obama raised $25 million in the first quarter of his campaign, nearly the same amount as Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, who leads Obama in many early polls and is considered the party’s presidential front-runner.

Obama’s campaign staff has not yet turned to television advertising and has instead concentrated on dozens of smaller, more personal stops. Staffers declined to speculate Saturday when or whether TV ads will be part of the strategy.

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