Obama's Supporters Don't Want to See him go negative

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., officially filed for the New Hampshire primary this afternoon, announcing as he turned in his paperwork that, "it is time for real change."

During a press conference afterwards, a reporter asked U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., to discuss the difference between his position on special interests and that of his Democratic presidential rival U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. Obama said, "I'll be very specific."

He outlined his campaign finance reform efforts as a state legislator in Illinois, and the work he's done in the U.S. Senate, saying "I have a stronger track record than any candidate in this race and am consistently working to open up government and make it more accountable to the American people." Obama did not, however, mention Clinton by name or if her decision to take lobbyist and PAC money was the wrong decision.

In recent weeks, Obama has been more aggressive when outlining why he is the better Democratic choice. Obama began his campaign in February as the candidate for change and pledged to engage in a clean fight for the nomination. He has been a very successful fundraiser and continues to draw large crowds on the trail, but some pundits have questioned whether taking the high road and playing the nice guy is preventing Obama from truly defining himself as the better choice and making it more difficult to tighten the ever-growing lead Clinton has over him in New Hampshire.

On Monday, Obama gave no indication he was going to ramp up the rhetoric against Clinton. After filing for the primary, Obama went outside to the front lawn of the Statehouse where about 1,000 people cheered on the senator in the hot afternoon sun. He continued his message of enacting real change in Washington and railed against the lobbyists he said have hijacked energy and health care reform. He also talked about his decision to run for the presidency with a positive message of change.

"The other thing I had to ask myself was 'is there something I can do that no other candidate for the United States can do?'" Obama said. "I decided the answer was yes because I believe what is needed in the next president is someone who can bring the country together and over come those divisions to get something done. ... America is tired arguing and bickering about the past. They are ready to look toward the future."

Obama again did not take on Clinton specifically, but by touching on his dedication to lessen lobbyists' influence in Washington as well as his ability to bring people together, it appeared he was courting voters who feel Clinton is too connected to Washington and too polarizing to get elected next November.

While Obama has been getting more media attention at other events for going after Clinton directly, his supporters in Concord said they weren't interested in hearing political jabs and criticisms from him.

"It's not in his nature to be negative," said Janis Moriarty, a Republican who is supporting Obama. "He's held to his word not to run a negative campaign, but a positive campaign."

James L. Campbell, an independent voter supporting Obama, said he also does not want to see Obama go negative, though he admitted it can be effective.

"I think everybody's sick of the negativity," he said.

Both Campbell and Moriarty said they felt Obama's campaign wasn't about the his tearing down rivals, but leaving it up to the supporters on the ground to convince voters he's the better choice.

"We're his voice," said Moriarty. "We tell people."

Beth LaMontagne can be reached at blamontagne@nhpols.com.

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