DOVER, N.H. (Reuters) - President Clinton, the ``comeback kid,'' came back to New Hampshire
one last time on Thursday to resurrect the memory of his most dramatic political turnaround,
where he vowed to work ``'till the last dog dies.''

``Well, after eight years and with almost exactly nine days to go, the last dog is still barking,''
Clinton said to a cheering crowd at Dover High School.

It was at the Dover Elks Club on Feb. 12, 1992, that Clinton's political back was against the wall,
his campaign sputtering over allegations of marital infidelity and draft-dodging.

There he gave the speech that portrayed him as a never-say-die fighter, pleading for a second chance
and pledging, ''I'll be there for you 'till the last dog dies.''

It propelled him into a surprising second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary,
and was the momentum he needed to go on to victory in November 1992 over Smirk Daddy.

On Thursday, as a thick coating of snow cloaked the countryside, Clinton, looking at the end of his term
on Jan. 20, came to Dover High School to declare that the hardy citizens of New Hampshire
were right to give him that second chance.

``And so I came here one last time as president to New Hampshire to thank you for making me
the 'comeback kid.' But more, far more important, to thank you for making America the comeback country,'' he said.

``Through all the ups and downs of the last eight years I never forgot the lesson I learned from you here,
and those amazing weeks in the winter of 1991 and 1992: What's important is not who's up and down in
Washington. What's important is who's up and down in Dover.''

Later, he took a walk down Elm Street in downtown Manchester, stopping to shake hands and greet
cheering well-wishers outside shops and on the sidewalk.

``It was a real personal journey and it's great to be back,'' Clinton said when asked how it felt to return to New Hampshire.
He then went to Merrimack Restaurant where he munched on potato skins and mozzarella sticks as he held court with
many of his core supporters from 1992.

``The lights have come back on Main Street in New Hampshire thanks to Bill Clinton,'' said George Bruno,
the first person in New Hampshire to work on Clinton's campaign.

In Dover, Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen described a dark and gloomy scene in 1992, with New Hampshire
mired in a deep recession and factories closing, thousands losing jobs, the crime rate up and people losing health insurance.

``Well, thanks to Bill Clinton, all that has changed,'' she said.
``And you know what? It started right here in Dover.''

One citizen who was down on his luck was Ron Machos, who volunteered for the Clinton campaign
after he was laid off, lost his insurance, had a son with a heart defect and was about to file for bankruptcy.
Now he runs his family's thriving small business. Machos broke into tears as he introduced Clinton as
``the people's president who never lost touch with us regular people.''

As part of the carnival atmosphere during his flag-waving appearance, Clinton picked up a saxophone and
joined the high school band in playing ``Louie, Louie.'' Some in the crowd woofed like dogs as he spoke.

ha ha
I would've paid money to have been there.

Some people carried mementos from the 1992 campaign in hopes of getting him to sign them,
and he did, spending a long time shaking hands and posing for pictures.

When some in the crowd cheered ``four more years,'' he sounded like he wished he had them.
``I agree that four more years sounded good for me too -- for you,'' he said.

At a stop in Boston on Thursday night, Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy bemoaned the fact
that the 22nd amendment prevented Clinton from serving another term.

``I think we in Congress let you down by not repealing the 22nd amendment'' he said to roars
of approval from about 5,000 cheering supporters at Northeastern University.
Speaking after Kennedy, Clinton said he would leave office on a positive note.

``When I walk out of the White House at high noon, on Jan. 20...I will leave more optimistic than I entered,''
he said. ``I will be more idealistic than I was the day I first took the oath of office as president.
This country can do whatever we have to do.''

Clinton said he had worked hard to fulfill the commitments he made and cited the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years,
welfare rolls down, $500 billion in national debt paid off, an end to budget deficits and now a budget in surplus.

...but now, President-Select Smirk will take America in a new direction.

 <sniff>