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Gov. Bill Richardson appears on CNN at the Polk County Convention Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

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DES MOINES, Iowa — CNN had barely called the Democratic presidential race in Iowa for Sen. Barack Obama before Gov. Bill Richardson was headed for the airport and a flight to New Hampshire.

Having received just 2 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, Richardson has a lot of catching up to do.

And so the campaign, Part II, starts early this morning in Manchester, N.H., where the governor kicks off a four-day frenzy - 12 events in seven cities today alone.

The New Hampshire primary is Tuesday, but as Richardson addressed campaign supporters at the Des Moines Quality Inn on Thursday night, he was looking even beyond that.

"I will take this campaign to New Hampshire, to the West, to the rest of the country," he told about 200 supporters, looking as relaxed as he did after winning his second gubernatorial race in New Mexico.

He also spelled out the backbone of his strategy in the weeks and months ahead.

"It's going to be a campaign, a referendum on ending the war in Iraq," he said.

Richardson said he would focus on his plan to end the war and withdraw all troops within the first year he's in office. It's a point he's reiterated to separate himself from the other candidates, and a subject on which many political scientists agree he stands out.

"We will continue this message of ending the war, and I ask all other candidates to join me in the this message of bringing all our troops home in one year," he said.

Richardson will get another chance to deliver that message to a national audience on Saturday in a debate in Manchester with the three front-runners. With just four candidates invited, it will be the smallest debate so far, giving each more air time - and more time for mistakes.

Instead of showing any disappointment about his Iowa performance, Richardson seemed truly exhilarated for the first time in days.

"We made it to the final four," Richardson shouted, as if he'd won. "It's on to New Hampshire," he declared.

If Richardson, 60, stays in the race until the Democratic National Convention in August, he might become a stranger in his own state - except for the opening day of the Legislature on Jan. 15, where he's scheduled to give the state of the state address.

However, don't expect that visit to last long.

There's a debate in Nevada that night, another chance at the national spotlight for which Richardson is already preparing.