Tears of a candidate: Clinton's emotions flow

PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire (AFP) — An exhausted Hillary Clinton fought back tears and her voice trembled with emotion Monday, as the strain of her damaged White House bid welled up and cracked her steely public face.

In one of the few moments in her years on the political stage that her inner feelings have been exposed, Clinton, eyes moist and reddened, was asked by Marianne Pernold, 64, how she managed to keep on going every day.

"It's not easy, and I could not do it if I just didn't passionately believe it was the right thing to do," she said, at the end of a conversation with undecided voters in a coffee shop, a day ahead of the New Hampshire primary.

"I have had so many opportunities from this country, I just don't want us to fall backwards," Clinton said, as her voice dissolved into a whisper.

Then in one of the few insights the campaign has given into Clinton's inner character, she said: "This is very personal for me ... it is not just political ... I see what's happening ... we have to reverse it."

"Some people think elections are a game," said the former first lady, her voice breaking again.

"It is about our country, it is about our kids' futures," she said, in a moment which appeared unscripted and spontaneous.

Later Monday, Clinton mused about the challenges and sacrifices faced on the grueling campaign trail, noting that she had been deeply touched by Pernold's expression of support and concern.

"I actually have emotions. I know there are some people who doubt that. But you know, I really am so touched by what I hear from people," she told CNN later Monday.

"When this woman, this kind woman said to me, 'how are you doing?' it was so touching to me because I am so other-oriented," the former first lady said.

"I'm not good about talking about myself. I don't get up and think about how I'm going to present myself. I think about, okay, what am I going to do today to make a difference in somebody's life," Clinton said.

She added that having a supporter tell her "I want you to be able to go the distance. I want you to be okay ... was very touching to me."

Clinton, who was formerly the runaway frontrunner in national opinion polls but has ceded the lead to Barack Obama in just the past day or so, also revealed frustration about how she often is viewed in the media and by much of the public.

Later, at a Clinton rally in Salem, New Hampshire, there was another bizarre moment, when two men stood up and started shouting "Iron My Shirt!" before they were ushered out by police.

"The remnants of sexism are alive and well," Clinton, who is vying to become America's first woman president, laughed after the protest.

Clinton's tearful moment recalled a notorious teary political moment on the Democratic presidential campaign trail in New Hampshire, when the late Ed Muskie was widely reported to have broken down in tears while defending his wife from political attacks.

Muskie denied he had cried, saying his face was moist because of a snow storm, but the 1972 incident was seen as the moment when his presidential campaign folded under pressure.

Earlier, in an interview with CBS, Clinton expressed determination to battle back against the meltdown of her support base, now under an assault from Obama.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, we're going on," she said of the results of Tuesday's vote. "And we're going to keep going until the end of the process on February 5."

With more than 20 states holding primary votes, February 5 could be the day that the Republican and Democratic White House nominees are decided.