John Kerry Returns to New Hampshire

Democratic party leaders are meeting in Washington to consider "changing the presidential nominating calendar". John Kerry, "the man who won the last New Hampshire primary" returned to New Hampshire today to give support to those who supporterd him in '04.

Sen. John Kerry didn't mention a proposal by Democratic National Committee panel that would lessen New Hampshire's prominence by allowing other states to hold caucuses before the primary. But Kerry praised the state's tradition of testing candidates, and he fondly recalled spending more than 100 days in the state before the 2004 primary.

"You were like family," he said at a fundraiser for state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark. "You held up and held out your hopes and aspirations and we felt it. You gave money you didn't have. ... You gave time away from your families."

The DNC rules and bylaws committee is expected to adopt the new calendar proposal, but that hasn't stopped potential 2008 candidates from flocking to New Hampshire. Fuller Clark said such visits bode well for New Hampshire's future.

"They are making a statement by coming here that they understand the importance of the New Hampshire primary," she said.