Concord – Sen. John McCain moved yesterday to win over the independent voters who helped him win the New Hampshire primary in 2000.

McCain basked in the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent, in Hillsborough. He later unveiled a coalition of 300 independent New Hampshire voters at the New Hampshire Political Library in Concord.

David Lee of Derry, co-chairman of New Hampshire Independents for McCain, said he "has the ability to work across party lines and get the job done for the good of the American people."

Gene Porter of Nashua said McCain can reunite the country, and get the U.S. "back to a position of international leadership and respect."

Word that Lieberman would endorse McCain leaked out Sunday night. Yesterday, he stood with McCain at an American Legion hall to announce his decision himself.

"We desperately need our next President to break through the reflexive partisanship that is poisoning our politics and stopping us from getting things done. We need a President who can reunite our country, restore faith in our government and rebuild confidence in America's future. My friend, John McCain, is that candidate," Lieberman said.

Asked later about how the endorsement came about, McCain joked, "I put on my knee pads, bent the knee and kissed the ring." He said Lieberman's decision is "an act of courage."

McCain said he considered carefully before asking for his support, and the two had a single conversation on the subject.

►Text of Sen. Lieberman's endorsement
►McCain to unveil full plan to ease middle-class burden (3)

"I was a little reluctant to ask him because I didn't want him to do something that might cause harm to his political future," McCain said.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Al From, founder of Democratic Leadership Council, both criticized Lieberman's endorsement yesterday.

Lieberman was Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 presidential election, and he sought the Democratic nomination in 2004. But he split with his party two years ago over the war in Iraq, which he and McCain support.

Lieberman urged voters to choose a candidate over a party, saying "no one should let party lines be a barrier to choosing the person we believe is best qualified to lead our nation forward."

Independent voters outnumber members of either major political party in New Hampshire. In the 2006 election, the group comprised 44 percent of more than 850,000 registered voters.

McCain said independents "can have a dramatic and significant effect on the outcome of the New Hampshire Primary." But he said they are "notoriously late in making up their minds." He said he questions polls that indicate most independents will take a Democratic ballot in this primary.

McCain has been climbing in polls in early primary states, and lately won the endorsement of key major daily newspapers, including the Des Moines Register, the New Hampshire Union Leader and the Boston Globe.

Asked if he feels he has to win New Hampshire, McCain said "let me give you some straight talk - we have to do well here in New Hampshire."

If he fails to win the nomination, he will not campaign as an independent.

"I see no way I would do such a thing," he said.