MANCHESTER – U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat running for his party's Presidential nomination, focused yesterday on the nation's health-care system and the war in Iraq as he wrapped up his third campaign trip to New Hampshire.

Kucinich , received just 1 percent of the vote in the 2004 New Hampshire primary. This time around, though, he is doing things differently. He has been traveling early and often to the Granite State, and has been more aggressive in differentiating his views from those of the race's front-runners.

"My candidacy challenges the Democratic Party and gives the people of New Hampshire someone to vote for who doesn't have any strings attached," said Kucinich, who yesterday morning spoke to a small group of supporters at the Merrimack Restaurant on Elm Street.

Kucinich, a former mayor of Cleveland, touched on other issues during breakfast, such as calling for incentives to boost production of wind- and solar-energy technology, and pushing for full employment in the economy.

But health care and Iraq were the major issues of conversation.

On health care, Kucinich touted his plan for a single-payer health-care system, which he described as "Medicare for all." The plan would be entirely government-funded, and would be paid for through a variety of already-existing levies and a new 7.7 percent employer payroll tax.

The thinking behind the plan, according to Kucinich, is that it will remove private insurers and their profits from the equation. He argued that would make health care cheaper and remove a burden from businesses and families.

And despite the new employer tax, Kucinich said, many small firms would likely do better paying that than paying insurance premiums.

Kucinich charged his opponents in the race would talk about universal health care, but also talk about a system that would protect private insurers.

"This issue is a fault line in the Democratic Party. The question is: Whose side are you on, the side of the people or the side of the insurance companies? You can't be on both," Kucinich said.

Kucinich also took shots at his opponents - although he named no names - regarding the war in Iraq. He criticized them for advocating peace while having initially voted for the war, and he also criticized them for planning to vote for the war's continued funding.

Those shots, while indirect, were aimed at front-runners such as U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. They were also aimed at capitalizing on intense dissatisfaction with the war among more liberal Democrats.

Kucinich's next return to New Hampshire is set for early April. He plans to attend several meetings and take part in the April 5 debate among Democrats running for their party's nomination. The New Hampshire Union Leader, CNN and WMUR-TV are sponsoring the debate, which will be hosted at St. Anselm College.

Kucinich, who in total has spent nine days in New Hampshire and said on Saturday that he joined a Concord food co-op, also said he'll return to campaign in New Hampshire as much as he possibly can.

"I'll be back," Kucinich said at the end of yesterday's event. "I'll be back often."