OBAMA RESPONDS TO CRITIQUE BY PRESIDENT CLINTON

A day after President Clinton called press coverage of Senator Obama’s Iraq War position “the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen,” Mr. Obama dismissed the criticism as a sign that Senator Clinton’s presidential bid was on the ropes. “I understand he’s feeling a little frustrated right now,” Mr. Obama told reporters at a Dunkin’ Donuts store in Manchester, N.H.

“Every point that he raised was a question that had been answered — had been asked and answered, not only on ‘Meet the Press’ but repeatedly. It is a little frustrating for the president to — the former president — to continually repeat this notion that somehow I didn’t know where I stood in 2004 about the war.”

Mr. Clinton complained Monday that Mr. Obama had not been asked in the debates about statements from 2004 in which he seemed to waver in his opposition to the war.

The Illinois senator said his position has been consistent, but he softened some language that year to avoid a clash with the Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Kerry, who supported the war.

Mr. Obama said it seemed Mr. Clinton was deliberately distorting the facts. “At some point, since we’ve corrected him repeatedly on this and he keeps on repeating it, you know, it tells me that he’s just more interested in trying to muddy the waters than actually talk fairly about my record,” the Illinois senator said.

WOMAN WHO MOVED SENATOR CLINTON SIDES WITH OBAMA

A New Hampshire woman whose question about how Mrs. Clinton was holding up under the strain of the presidential race prompted a rare outpouring of emotion from the New York senator ultimately decided to back Mr. Obama.

“Obama will give people a fresh start,” the woman who triggered one of the campaign’s most memorable moments, Marianne Pernold-Young, told a syndicated television program, “Inside Edition.” “He doesn’t have any debts to pay,” she said.

HUCKABEE SEEKS UNLIKELY VOTE FROM RIVAL

In Manchester, N.H., yesterday, Michael Huckabee made a play for a voter unlikely to jump on board just yet, Mayor Giuliani.

At Brookside Congregational Church , the two men crossed paths while making a last-minute pitch to those lining up to vote.

Mr. Huckabee jokingly asked the former New York mayor for his support. “We get along beautifully on the trail,” the former Arkansas governor said, according to the Associated Press.

CANDIDATES FAN OUT AFTER N.H. SHOWDOWN

The presidential hopefuls are leaving the snows of New Hampshire behind today as they move on to the next set of battleground states.

Among the Democrats, Mr. Obama is heading to Boston for fund raising, to Jersey City, N.J., for a public rally, and then to New York for an evening fund-raiser at the Grand Hyatt.

Mrs. Clinton was expected to return home to New York, though no official schedule for her had been released by press time last night. John Edwards heads to Clemson and Columbia, S.C., for what his campaign is calling a homecoming tour.

On the Republican side, Senator McCain is to campaign in Charleston, S.C.

Mr. Huckabee has events in Spartanburg and Greenville, S.C., Mr. Giuliani, pursuing a different strategy, is heading to Melbourne and West Palm Beach, Fla. Mr. Romney is scheduled to campaign in and near Grand Rapids, Mich.