Former mayor can’t shake his New York critics

No letup in the last hours

After Iowa, change is in the air in New Hampshire. In the Democratic primary, Barack Obama’s emphasis on change has suddenly made him the candidate to beat. On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee has a tall order in replicating his win, but this has forced Mitt Romney to alter his tactics and helped revive John McCain’s chances. A look at the front-runners on their last full day of campaigning in New Hampshire:

REPUBLICANS

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He talks about a 50-state strategy, but former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani seems unable to leave New York behind him.

On Monday morning, the Republican presidential contender planned to shake hands with patrons at Jackie’s Diner, a hole-in-the-wall eatery overlooking Nashua’s busy Main Street.

By the time Giuliani arrived, the limited space not taken up by media was filled by a hostile crowd -- union people and other New York City activists anxious to tell voters that Giuliani’s municipal record includes much more than his response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“He was a horrible mayor,” said George Albro, secretary-treasurer of the Assn. of Legal Aid Attorneys, a union local based in Manhattan.

Albro, sitting incognito over breakfast as Giuliani passed by, asked the former mayor about his healthcare stance, arguing that his opposition to federal universal healthcare plans means he must also be against Medicare.

Giuliani appeared to defend Medicare -- and his own healthcare plan -- and then made for the door, realizing his advance team hadn’t quite arranged the right crowd of diners.

Outside, he stepped into a phalanx of reporters, most of whom were from New York and who pressed the mayor on his light showing in polls and indications that his campaign may be in trouble. Giuliani dismissed the questions as “process” issues that voters don’t care about.

“They’re trying to figure out who the better leader for the country is,” he said.

Giuliani added that his focus has been on a 50-state strategy, with most of the emphasis on Feb. 5, when his native New York, California and some 20 other states vote.

Then he was off for a walking tour of Main Street. At the first stop, a jewelry store, the press gaggle was forced to wait outside, flanked by Giuliani volunteers waving large blue signs and blocking traffic at the intersection.

“Come on,” one motorist shouted out the window as he leaned on his horn in a misplaced New York moment. “I gotta get to work.”

-- Scott Martelle