Involved, informed, undecided

Still, Beale cannot say with 100 percent certainty that she will mark the former Vermont governor's name as her choice for the Democratic Party's nominee for president when she steps into the voting booth on Tuesday. Should the campaign get too negative, or if Dean "turns sour" because of his disappointing third-place finish in last week's Iowa caucuses, Beale said, she might support retired General Wesley K. Clark.

"It really depends on how Dean conducts himself," Beale, 59, said last week, noting that she agrees with the candidate on most issues.

As pollsters try to predict who will win the New Hampshire primary, Beale is an example of how fickle voters can be, even when they appear to be strongly leaning toward a particular candidate. That volatility can lead to upset victories, as in the Iowa caucuses last week, when US Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina came in first and second, respectively, after many political observers and polls suggested a dead heat for dominance between Dean and US Representative Richard Gephardt of Missouri, who, in the end, came in fourth.

Beale started her selection process last summer, meeting Dean first. She and her husband, Bob Jones, received a flier at their home, inviting them to an ice cream social in a neighbor's backyard. The couple decided to go. It was nearby, and they could walk.

"We definitely didn't have any ideas about the candidate," Beale said. "I knew he was driven and a governor" -- and that was it.

Dean spoke for about 20 minutes, and to Beale's surprise, the candidate, who once practiced medicine, spoke little about health care. Rather, he focused on foreign policy, and his knowledge of the subject -- along with his outspokenness -- impressed her.

"He had a lot of charisma, and I try not to make that how I decide on a candidate," she said. She also noted that in some conversations among the other attendees, there was a question over whether Dean was electable because he came from a small state with a liberal reputation.

Beale declined to take home any signs or T-shirts that day.

But as she continued to evaluate candidates, she kept coming back to Dean. For instance, while she admired the exentensive political background of Kerry and his compelling story of Vietnam soldier turned war protester, he failed to inspire her when he spoke. The Dean campaign also was aggressive in trying to persuade her to commit to the former governor -- even managing to persuade her to show some support for him when she was still wavering.

Late last fall, Beale, a seventh-grade history teacher at Hollis-Brookline Middle School, reluctantly allowed a young campaign aide to visit her home. The campaign worker wanted Beale to write a letter of support for Dean to the New Hampshire charter of the National Education Association, which was weighing a recommendation. Beale, a former president of her union, intentionally scheduled the appointment late so the young woman would not stay too long.

The campaign worker stayed for only a half-hour, sharing a bit of her story of how she came to support Dean, uprooting herself from New York City to work in New Hampshire. Beale liked the young woman's energy and commitment. (It also helped that the young woman lavished Beale's fluffy black cat, Persophone, with affection.)

As Beale and the young woman discussed Dean's position statements on education around the dining room table, Beale warmed to Dean's stances, especially his outspoken contention that President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act has set some impossible goals and does not provide enough funding for its mandates.

Beale agreed to write a letter.

"She was very persuasive," Beale said, "but not to the point where it would turn you off."

Still, in spite of writing letters to NEA-NH, Beale could not fully commit herself to Dean. She felt comfortable with his stances on education and social issues, but wanted more time to examine how he stood on other issues, such as taxes. She declined a request by the campaign for her and her husband to host a party for Dean at their home before Christmas.

"I still hadn't studied the other candidates enough," Beale said.

Earlier this month, with a legal-size notebook in hand, Beale drove to Bedford's McKelvie Middle School in the bitter cold to hear Clark speak. With Clark's late entry into the race, Beale knew little about him and was curious about his growing popularity. She also had her concerns: His previous support of former Republican presidents and the possibility that his military background could make him a one-issue candidate.

Hundreds of people turned out, and Beale carefully took notes about what Clark had to say.

"He didn't appear military-like," she said of Clark who was wearing a sweater that evening. "I thought he had everything well thought out. I really felt he had a plan about everything."

But she continued to feel uncomfortable with his new affiliation with the Democratic Party.

"I think people can change," she said, "but when you have candidates who have been strong in the party for such a long time -- that can have sway over me."

And that helps put Dean in a stronger position with Beale.

Last Saturday, a couple about Beale's age knocked on her door, asking if she would put up a Dean sign. Beale didn't commit right away. She told them that while she was a fan of Dean, she also was looking at Clark. The couple chimed in, "We like Wesley Clark, too. We think he would make a great secretary of defense," she recalled them saying.

The conversation didn't last long, and she agreed to take a sign. Two days later, after she returned from cross-country skiing, she climbed up the snowbank and finally stuck in the sign.

Beale said there was no monumental event that prompted her to show her public support. It simply felt like the right thing to do. But whether she will carry that support with her behind the red, white, and blue curtain of the voting booth at the McKelvie School on Tuesday remains to be seen.

"I'm almost 100 percent sure I will vote for Dean, but I'm still looking at Clark," Beale said last Tuesday afternoon. "I'm not going to be horribly upset if [Dean] loses. There's no one I really oppose."

James Vaznis's e-mail is jvaznis@globe.com.