Fresh off his momentous victory in the Iowa caucus and with a voice hoarse from frenetic campaigning, Sen. Barack Obama exhorted New Hampshire residents yesterday to deliver him a second win.

"Last night the American people began down the road to change, and four days from now, New Hampshire, you have the chance to change America," he told several hundred voters in a hangar at the Pease International Tradeport in Porstmouth. He reiterated that message midday to a similarly large crowd at Concord High School.

Obama emphasized a message of unity among Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Although bipartisanship has always been part of Obama's stump speeches, his new speech makes unity its central theme. It gives only slight mention to policy specifics and outlines a broad vision of uniting the country for change.

He attributed his Iowa victory to a broad coalition. "We won with everyone, with Democrats, Republicans, independents, young and old, the union vote and non-union vote, men and women, black and white," he said. He urged New Hampshire voters to "come together as Democrats and Republicans and independents and stand up and say we are one nation, one people, and that our time for change has come."

If Obama wins the Democratic primary Tuesday, he pledged to unify the party, then "go out to gather independents and Republicans and form a working majority" to win the general election.

"We'll build a coalition that stretches between red states and blue states, that's how we'll win in November," he said.

To get there, Obama will bill himself as the only candidate able to bring the changes voters want. In a comment apparently directed at Hillary Clinton, he said in an interview that "it's hard for folks to argue they are going to be the change agent when they are a longtime player in the game being played."

He added that he opposed the war in Iraq and had sponsored legislation to diminish the influence of special interests in Washington. And he opposes the "saber rattling" against Iran. "It makes me the more credible agent of change," he said.

After the Concord rally, Obama told the Monitor he'll continue the momentum he built in Iowa by combining a call for hope with a discussion of his campaign's "big ideas." He said those include his call for renewable energy, a foreign policy that includes diplomacy and military force and a $4,000 tax credit for college students willing to perform community service.

But before Obama can reach the general election, he must persuade his supporters to go to the polls. "New Hampshire is always important, and this is going to be a very decisive primary," chief strategist David Axelrod said.

Axelrod said the Iowa victory will not change Obama's strategy. "Our strategy's been consistent for 10 months," he said. "We think this country needs change, real change, in the way politics works, change that will unify our country, push back on the special interests and level with the American people about the problems we face."

At the Portsmouth and Concord events, Obama asked undecided voters to raise their hands. When about a dozen did, he joked, "We're coming after you." He urged undecided voters to fill out supporter cards "if I'm sufficiently persuasive."

In another addition to his stump speech Obama alluded to the historic nature of his quest to become the first African American president.

He quoted Martin Luther King's phrase "the fierce urgency of now" in explaining why he was running. He spoke on the meaning of hope and how it motivated American independence, the abolition of slavery, the fight against fascism in World War II, suffrage and civil rights. "Hope is what sent young men and women to Montgomery, Selma to walk, march and sit in at lunch counters, face fire hoses, beatings, go to jail. Some gave up their lives for freedom's cause," he said. "That's what hope is."

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