On the Eve of the New Hampshire Primary, Barack Obama Talks About Hope and Change in Rochester

"Everybody is talking about change now," Barack Obama told a capacity crowd of around 800 New Hampshire voters at the Rochester Opera House on Monday. Judging by his surprise victory in Iowa last week and his nine point lead over Hillary Clinton in the latest poll of Granite State voters, Obama is right. On the eve of the New Hampshire Primary, the Senator once again emphasized the themes that have made him the leading presidential candidate, hope and change.

The event got off to a shaky start when a small group of pro-life protestors interrupted Obama's speech by chanting in unison, "Abortion is an abomination." But Obama handled the situation with poise, going so far as to offer to meet with the instigators after the event if they would allow him to speak uninterrupted. He also asked the crowd to remain calm and civil after several annoyed audience members began verbally assaulting the protestors. In the end the pro-lifers refused to be silent, and were escorted away by the Rochester police so that the event could continue.

Obama urged the crowd to follow the example provided by voters in Iowa and choose change. The senator promised to build a new governing majority composed of Democrats, Independents, and - he added with a smile - "some Republicans". He also noted that in November the names George W. Bush and Dick Cheney would no longer be on the ballot, offering Americans a new opportunity to place their differences aside and work together for change.

"In just one more day we can say to those lobbyists in Washington, 'Your days are numbered.'" he added. The Senator appeared confident and energized despite having spent a marathon week campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire. And the voters in attendance responded in kind, laughing and cheering throughout the speech.