Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh said yesterday in Cornish that he would make reducing carbon dioxide emissions and increasing American energy independence his top priorities if he were elected president.

He told a few dozen Democrats there is bipartisan interest in the linked issues because Republicans believe alternatives to foreign oil would improve national security and Democrats want to address environmental issues.

"I'd begin with this energy issue, including global warming, because it affects so many important things and because there's some common ground there," he said.

Bayh was hosted by Democratic state senators from Keene and Cornish yesterday, after speaking at a reception in Manchester on Saturday night.

Bayh has promoted himself as a moderate who can work with Republicans. He said he expected that the new Democratic majorities in Congress would make federal financing for stem cell research one of its top priorities when it convenes in January.

He also acknowledged that Democrats are likely to investigate some Republican policies, such as the conduct of the war in Iraq.

But he said the Democrats have a mandate to get things done, which will come first.

Bayh said he largely agrees with the recently released Iraq Study Group report, which recommends that U.S. forces be withdrawn from most combat operations while more are assigned to train the Iraqi army and police to complete the transition to Iraqi self-governance.

"My own belief . . . is that we need to put pressure on them and tell them, 'Look - unless you start making these hard decisions, we're not going to stay forever and we're going to begin the process of leaving.' Only by doing that do we maximize the chances of them forging a country," he said.