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The advantages for Mitt Romney are abundant in the Republican presidential primary here, but there is one obstacle that stands far taller than Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich or any rival: The inclination of New Hampshire to knock a front-runner down to size. When Mr. Romney claimed victory in Iowa by an eight-vote margin, he suddenly found himself on the wrong side of history in the nation’s first primary. mulberry bagsIn every competitive contest since 1980, the Republican winner of the caucuses has fallen short in New Hampshire. Mr. Romney, who treated a few hundred supporters to a spaghetti dinner here on Friday night, is trying to avoid the missteps of leading candidates before him and to overcome a sense among some voters that the Republican nominating contest is taking on the trappings of a coronation.“We’re in a real battle right now,” said Mr. Romney, whose tone was far less urgent than a few weeks ago when his rivals were on his heels. He closed his speech with a plea, saying: “Give me a bigger margin than eight votes if you possibly can.” As Mr. Romney took a 24-hour detour to South Carolina this week in hopes of getting a head start campaigning for the first Southern primary on Jan. 21, some of his rivals trudged across New Hampshire trying to plant the seed that he is already looking beyond New Hampshire and taking the state for granted.It was a sentiment that resonated with some voters, who are already feeling neglected because the primary here has not received the overwhelming attention of previous years because of Mr. Romney’s wide lead in many polls. “What’s bothered people in New Hampshire,” said Duncan Wood, 63, a civil engineer from Grantham, “is that it’s been assumed from Day 1 that he’d win New Hampshire, because he has a house here, mulberry salehe was a governor of a neighboring state. It’s like we aren’t really going to have a chance to vote because Romney’s going to win.” The Romney campaign is sensitive to suggestions that the candidate and his advisers are not tirelessly fighting to win New Hampshire. They are on constant alert for warning signs that his lead in polls could erode, apprehensive about a pair of back-to-back debates this weekend that provide a chance for his rivals to take a shot at him before it is too late. Tom Rath, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign who served in a similar role for the younger Mr. Bush, said the outcome of the New Hampshire primary 12 years ago still haunted him. And four years ago, he said, he had also detected the erosion of Mr. Romney’s support to Mr. McCain. “There was some sort of mood shift or indication by public or private data that something was happening,” Mr. Rath said. “We don’t see any similar indication this time. In fact, I see the opposite, I see an electorate that is very comfortable with Mitt Romney, has given everyone a good hard look and is now ready to vote.mulberry bags for sale”A moment later, he added, “But I’d like to vote tomorrow.” A poll released here on Friday from WMUR-TV and the University of New Hampshire Survey Center showed that Mr. Romney had 44 percent support, with Representative Ron Paul at 20 percent and Mr. Santorum at 8 percent. The poll had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.