Lieberman endorses McCain

HILLSBOROUGH, N.H. -- Republican John McCain is having quite a moment. He's rising in the polls. He's got major newspaper endorsements in Iowa and New Hampshire. And now he's getting help with this state's legions of independent voters from Joe Lieberman, the contrarian who was Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000.

"The Mac is Back," said a hand-painted sign on the wall of the packed American Legion post where Lieberman announced his endorsement on Monday, a newly optimistic tone after a bumpy campaign year for the Arizona senator.

The decision by the Senate's best-known independent to snub the Democratic Party could help McCain win a bigger share of the tide of independent voters who have been expected to flow to the Democratic field in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 8.

Independents outnumber Republicans and Democrats here, and the state is key to McCain's hopes for the GOP nomination.

• Powerful interests in Washington have swayed a new farm bill toward big business, Democrat Barack Obama said Monday, campaigning in Spencer, Iowa, part of the most rural region of this crucial early voting state and promising to do better as president.

"Once again the lobbyists stepped in to make sure that big agribusinesses got the multimillion-dollar giveaways that they've come to count on," said Obama.

• The increased attention Rudy Giuliani has been giving to New Hampshire doesn't seem to be paying off. The Republican still trails in the first-in-the-nation primary and also faces likely defeats in other early voting states.

Pinning his hopes on big states that come later in the primary season, the former New York mayor is struggling to regain momentum after a series of setbacks.