PORTSMOUTH — Answering questions by reading passages from his book, presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich sought to connect his poverty-stricken upbringing with his ability to make tough decisions.

PORTSMOUTH — Answering questions by reading passages from his book, presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich sought to connect his poverty-stricken upbringing with his ability to make tough decisions.



"If you read this book, one of the things you'll figure out is, because of the way I grew up, in a tough situation, it has created in me a kind of steeliness, an ability to take a stand against the odds," said Kucinich at the RiverRun Bookstore. "To have the clarity in the moment not to be pushed and just to do the right thing, you learn that in a life time; you learn courage over a life time."



The remarks came after Kucinich took a swipe at his fellow democratic rivals on their past votes for the authorization of the war in Iraq or subsequent votes approving funding for the war, saying, "You're electing judgment when you're electing a president, you're not electing a smile, a gliding hand, a floating image. You're electing the judgment of a person. Out of all the candidates, it was the judgment that I demonstrated in a moment of crisis that showed the capacity to take America in the right direction.



"The others haven't shown that. They were wrong about the war. Some of them led the effort for the war, some led the effort for the Patriot Act, and at least one said he was opposed to the war before the war, but then when he got to the Senate, he voted with Senator Clinton almost 100 percent of the time," said Kucinich.



A mostly friendly crowd jammed into the book store listening to Kucinich read from his book, answer a few questions and then sit to sign copies of his book, "The Courage To Survive."



"I thought his talk was good," said Naoufal Souitat. "His story makes you feel like he is one of us. He didn't have a special upbringing."



"His upbringing sheds some light on why he takes the positions he does," said Kevin Jerram.



Kucinich said he hopes to be in the top three in the New Hampshire primary and to carry the momentum to the following states.



"If we can move up to the top three in New Hampshire, it will change the race," said Kucinich. "We have to be ready to organize millions of people who see that, 'Hey, he has a chance.' That pent-up desire to participate, we have to have a system in place to deal with that."



He added that the Internet would be the best way to get more people involved and asked the crowd to send ideas on how to accomplish that.