Washington - Hillary Clinton came close to tears Monday while rallying for support on the eve of the New Hampshire presidential primary, as polls showed she had lost her front runner status to chief Democratic rival Barack Obama. "Some people think elections are a game. They think it's like who's up or who's down," she said, speaking softly as her voice began to crack. "It's about our country, it's about our kids' futures, and it's really about all of us together."
Campaigning in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Clinton was asked about how she kept up the gruelling pace of the campaign trail when she grew emotional. She said her drive to win the presidency in the November 4 election was "very personal" because she cares about the country and does not want to see it "fall backwards."
"You know, some of us put ourselves out there and do this against some pretty difficult odds," she said. "And we do it, each one of us, because we care about our country."
New Hampshire voters are set to cast ballots Tuesday in a state that only days ago appeared to be in Clinton's corner. But she suffered a disappointing third place finish in the Iowa caucuses on Thursday that lifted Obama to a decisive victory.
Polls showed Monday that Obama had opened up a double digit lead over the former first lady in New Hampshire, historically regarded as a key early state as the Republican and Democratic candidates battle it out to win their parties' presidential nomination.
