Lead in doubt, Clinton knocks on N.Hampshire doors

By Scott Malone

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton went door-to-door in freezing New Hampshire on Saturday, asking for support in the early voting state where her once-huge lead in the Democratic presidential primary race has melted away.

The New York senator knocked on doors along a snow-covered block of Manchester, less than a month before the crucial January 8 New Hampshire primary, the second binding contest of the 2008 presidential campaign.

"I'd be honored to have your support," Clinton said on the front porch of Mike Glickstein, a Manchester resident.

Glickstein, a 38-year-old maintenance worker whose beagle howled incessantly as he spoke to the former first lady, said he had intended to vote for Clinton already.

"I like her support of the middle class, I like her husband a lot," Glickstein said, referring to former President Bill Clinton.

Hillary Clinton has seen her lead over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, her main rival for the Democratic nomination, evaporate both in New Hampshire and Iowa, which on January 3 kicks off the state-by-state contests to choose the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees.

Two polls this week showed Clinton and Obama in a statistical dead heat in New Hampshire, each with the support of about 30 percent of voters. In September, Clinton had led Obama by 20 points.

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