PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- One-time presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton scoffed at suggestions that she had an "Ed Muskie moment" on the campaign trail Monday, when she was driven to the verge of tears at a campaign event during the final hours before New Hampshire voters go to the polls Tuesday.

Muskie buried his 1972 Democratic presidential race when he broke down after the Manchester Union Leader hurled insults at his wife in an article. He later claimed he was wiping snowflakes from his face, but the damage to his campaign was done.

"This is so ridiculous," Clinton told FOX News. "People who followed me during the course of my life know that I'm a passionate person and I care deeply about what happens to people. You know, here I am sitting in an intimate setting, although granted there are a million cameras around, talking to people about what they care about and what's on their minds and how deeply concerned they are about our country."

Click here to see the Clinton interview with FOX News' Major Garrett.

The pressure of a surge by Barack Obama may have been overwhelming for Clinton as she choked up Monday unexpectedly when answering a question about how she keeps up the pace on the campaign trail.

"I have so many opportunities and don’t want us to fall backwards," she said. "I see what’s happening, people. … Some of us are ready some of us are not. When we look at the array of problems and potential for it to spin out of control, this is one of the most important elections. As tired as I am … I believe so strongly (in) who we are as a nation so I’ll do everything I can to make my case and voters get to decide."

Click here to watch the report on Clinton getting emotional.

Click here to see photos of Clinton's emotional moment. 

Afterward, Clinton wouldn't call it a double standard that she was being judged for her emotional composure, but indicated her passion for her beliefs should not be treated differently because she is a female.

"We have gone through years of male political figures who have done everything from cry to scream, who have been our presidents. We have all kinds of pictures and stories and you know, I am who I am. I think people who have followed me and watched me they know I am cool under fire, they know that I am tough, they know that I can make decisions.

"But (I) also want them to know I'm a real person, I have feelings, I care about what I do, I don't do this because I want to live in the White House again. I do this because I'm worried about our country and what is going to happen in the next generation. And if I get emotional about that or if I'm passionate about defending myself, well than I'll (let) people draw their own conclusion," she said.

Clinton's show of emotion came on the same day she was turning up the heat on the battle with Obama, comparing her arch-rival for the Democratic presidential nomination to the nemesis of liberal Democrats -- President Bush.

Speaking to FOX News, Clinton said that many people really liked Bush's personality when he was running for office, but he didn't turn out to be a good leader. This could be a lesson for those supporting the amiable Illinois senator.

"In 2000 a lot of voters sort of had a leap of faith with George W. Bush, you know, he was going to be a uniter not a divider, and he was a guy you wanted to have a beer with," she said. "Well, I think that this election has really focused people's attention on the importance of who's in that Oval Office and the decisions that have to be made. So I just want voters to have the most available information to make that decision."

Obama trounced Clinton and the other Democratic presidential candidates with an insurgent candidacy in Iowa. A FOX News-Opinion Dynamics poll taken Jan. 4-6 of 500 likely Democratic voters shows Obama with 32 percent of the vote, Clinton at 28 percent and John Edwards at 18 percent. Richardson has 6 percent. The difference between Obama and Clinton is within the 4-point margin of error.

The latest poll numbers are the best Clinton has received in the last 48 hours. A RealClearPolitics average of Democratic polls in New Hampshire shows Obama leading with 37.3 percent compared to Clinton with 29.4 percent and Edwards at 19.1 percent. Richardson is polling at 5.7 percent in the average.

Turnout at an event for Clinton Monday morning did not have the large crowds that have been showing up at Obama events. Clinton spoke at Cafe Espresso with 25 undecided voters handpicked by her campaign.

Still, the campaign was expecting others to show up voluntarily. One voter noted that more reporters were present than average people, not a good sign the day before the primary.

Clinton has kept a tough front in the face of the Obama surge, saying she's prepared to continue her campaign despite the outcome.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, we're going on," Clinton said Monday.

But the pressure on Clinton may be overwhelming the New York senator and former first lady. At an event in Portsmouth, N.H., Clinton was nearly in tears when she described how much she loves the country and her fears that the Bush administration has sent the country backward.

"I have so many opportunities and don't want us to fall backwards," she said, becoming emotional. "I see what's happening, people. ... Some of us are ready some of us are not. When we look at the array of problems and potential for it to spin out of control, this is one of the most important elections. As tired as I am ... I believe so strongly (in) who we are as a nation so I'll do everything I can to make my case and voters get to decide."

The veneer, however, had not cracked when Clinton spoke to FOX News for the first time earlier in the day. She repeated her claim that her experience trumps any argument about change.

"You know, Henry David Thoreau said something like 'If you're going to build castles in the air, then be sure you also start building the foundation under them.' And I think this election is so important, I am passionately committed to making as clear as I can to voters what's at stake and why I believe I bring the qualifications and experience and consistency, of a lifetime to this race, and that's what I'm going to do over the next couple of days," she said.

Thoreau also said that most men live lives of quiet desperation, and from the Obama campaign's point of view, Clinton's negative turn is just that.

Instead, Obama has been pushing a positive message for change, said Obama adviser, Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.C.

"He reaches every demographic, every gender. He's a multicultural candidate, an all-American story of a historic kind. And what he's able to do is move past the politics of fear and division and the stale business as usual kind of personal attacks that politics are used to having, and really inspire people to come together. Because in this great country, it is the American people who want to take back their government and that's why Barack Obama is having such extraordinary success with his win in Iowa, and what I think will be a dramatic win in New Hampshire.

On the trail, Obama said he is inspired to be in public office because of the certainty of his message.

"If you know who you are, if you know what you stand for, if you know who you're fighting for and what principles can not be compromised, then you can reach out to people you don't agree with, you can reach across the aisle," he said.

Edwards, meanwhile, mounted an all-night bus tour of the state, with early morning stops planned for Berlin, Littleton and Claremont, with 10 more events throughout the day and evening. "While everyone else goes to bed tonight," he told a Nashua audience, "I'm going to be out working."

Later, Edwards criticized Clinton as ill-suited to bring about change. "The candidate -- Democrat or Republican -- who's taken the most money from drug companies is not a Republican. It's a Democrat and she in this race tomorrow morning," he said.

Clinton isn't the only one trying to breathe new life into her political future.

"We need some voters," Mitt Romney declared at one of six scheduled events and an end-of-the-day rally. Romney's first stop was the entrance of BAE Systems North America, where he found reporters and camera crews far outnumbered arriving workers. The former Massachusetts governor largely ignored the crowd, instead talking with Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., about the prior evening's debate.

The latest FOX News-Opinion Dynamics poll puts John McCain in front of the Republican pack vying in New Hampshire. Of the 500 likely GOP voters, 34 percent are breaking for McCain while 27 percent want Romney. Mike Huckabee is at 11 percent and Rudy Giuliani is at 9 percent.

The RealClearPolitics average of polls in New Hampshire show McCain with 34.1 percent, Romney with 28.6 percent. Mike Huckabee has 11.9 percent, Rudy Giuliani is averaging 8.3 percent, Ron Paul is at 7.8 percent and Fred Thompson is polling at 2.7 percent in the Granite State.

Huckabee, who won Iowa, said he wasn't counting on winning a top spot in New Hampshire's primary Tuesday, but would be pleased with a third or fourth slot.

Speaking later in the day, Romney suggested that the only Republican who could take on an Obama challenge would be himself.

"I think Barack Obama would be able to do to John McCain exactly what he was able to do to the other senators who were running on the other side," he said.

Meanwhile, McCain is off on a seven-city swing dubbed "The Mac Is Back" bus tour.

Flanked by dozens of friends and relatives who turned out for the final New Hampshire push, the Arizona senator mixed optimism with nostalgia as he sought a reprise of his win in the New Hampshire primary during his first White House run eight years ago.

The tight race between McCain and Romney has added emphasis on the need to persuade a swath of undecided voters and encourage hard-core supporters to turn out Tuesday.

"Tomorrow is the day when we will tell the world that New Hampshire again has chosen the next president of the United States," McCain told a couple of hundred sign-toting supporters, joking "vote early and often."

With his wife, Cindy, and two of their daughters behind him, McCain's tone was a bit wistful at the chilly early morning rally on the steps of the Nashua city hall.

"There's a lot of nostalgia associated with this morning. We've had a great time," he told said. "My friends, it has been an uplifting and wonderful experience."

While the Iowa results influenced the demeanor of the candidates in a campaign shortened to five days by this year's compacted election calendar, New Hampshire residents have a history of keeping their own counsel in their first-in-the-nation primary.

"Undeclareds" make up the majority of registered voters in the state, and those independents are free to vote in either primary on Tuesday. Romney aides hoped for a surge in favor of Obama, denying McCain the independent votes that catapulted him past Bush in 2000.

FOX News' Major Garrett and The Associated Press contributed to this report.