MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sens. John Kerry (Mass.) and John Edwards (N.C.) campaigned across New Hampshire over the weekend, hoping to make the most of their unexpected successes in the Iowa caucuses last Monday.

Kerry, with his campaign’s newfound vitality after his win in Iowa, toured New Hampshire on Friday to prepare for the state’s crucial primary.

The Jewish Community Center in Manchester was filled to capacity with an energetic crowd that spilled out of the main auditorium and into the front lobby as Kerry addressed a group of World War II, Vietnam and Korean War veterans.

Kerry’s campaign has been imbued with such a renewed vigor that even spectators who had already settled on other candidates came to witness Friday’s speech.

“I’ve already cast my ballot for [retired Gen. Wesley] Clark because I’ll be out of town on Tuesday, but I came to see this anyway,” said Dennis Turpin, a 56-year-old retired Navy Vietnam veteran.

Turpin, along with several hundred other potential voters and members of the media, were not disappointed as Kerry brought the crowd to its feet several times during his emotionally charged speech.

Flanked by Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, (D-S.C.), a veteran with more than 35 years of experience in the Senate, and former Sen. Max Cleland, a Democrat from Georgia and fellow veteran who lost both legs and his right arm during his service in Vietnam, Kerry elected to focus his speech on the emotional bond shared among the “band of brothers” gathered in the auditorium.

Kerry never strayed far from the main focus of his speech, even when he offered a backhanded criticism of President George W. Bush, warning that politicians and voters “must never confuse the decisions made in Washington with those made by the people who paid the price.”

Kerry did briefly address a few domestic issues at the end of his speech. He noted the need for an increase in the national minimum wage and for tighter restrictions on lobbyists in Washington, D.C.

Kerry criticized the “revolving door of lobbyists” and said rules need to be put in place to prevent a public servant from leaving office to immediately become a lobbyist for special interest groups.

After the senator concluded his short speech and took questions from the crowd, Kerry exited to a rousing ovation, a fact that struck many observers such as Turpin as a sign of how far the campaign has rebounded following a dismal performance in November and December.

“I went and saw [Kerry] in Pembroke earlier, and this is completely different,” Turpin said. “This crowd is bigger and livelier. This is a whole lot more than I expected.”

As the Kerry campaign surged following his Iowa victory, Edwards’ campaign seemed to struggle at an event in Concorde, N.H. to capitalize on the momentum garnered by his surprising second-place finish in Iowa.

Friday morning Edwards addressed the workers of the Page Belting Company in Concord, and his appearance drew more media than voters.

Speaking in the break room during the workers’ early morning coffee break, Edwards focused his speech mainly on economic issues, addressing the discrepancy in opportunities between rich and poor.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that there are two different Americas right now,” he said.

Edwards said that while affluent, upper-middle-class citizens benefit from better public schools and favorable tax breaks, many other Americans work minimum wage jobs and struggle to stay at or above the poverty level.

Edwards also attacked credit card companies for what he called unsavory and misleading advertising tactics that contribute to the debt problems of people across New Hampshire and the rest of the country.

“How many people here have received the offers for credit cards with the 0 percent interest rate?” he asked the crowd. “Then you miss a payment and what happens? That rate jumps up to 18, 19, 20 percent doesn’t it?”

Edwards accused the companies of “preying on the most vulnerable” and “fleecing the American people.” The senator also offered previews of other aspects of his economic plan, including a financing plan aimed at helping potential first-time homeowners by matching their private savings dollar for dollar up to $1,000 per year.

Few economic issues went untouched during the speech as Edwards accused Bush of allowing “war profiteering” in Iraq.

Edwards said Bush was putting the interests of American corporations first in the rebuilding of Iraq, claiming that every single company contracted for work in Iraq had contributed to the Bush campaign.

He concluded his speech with an appeal to voters’ optimism.

“Cynics didn’t build this country,” Edwards said.