Decision at hand, many go with gut

CONCORD, N.H. -- Along the icy streets of New Hampshire yesterday, those whose passions were aflame tried desperately to strike a spark in those whose political kindling was still dry.

On Main Street in Concord, clusters of volunteers hoisting nearly identical blue signs bearing the names DEAN '04 and CLARK '04 shouted slogans at one another and passing motorists. Two women from Vermont draped themselves with sandwich boards proclaiming "Dean Supports Child Porn." They beseeched shoppers to read from an obscure Vermont statute governing libraries and museums.

Meanwhile, at the counter of an ice cream shop, undecided voter Bianca Contraras sipped hot chocolate and chatted about her family. When asked about the primary, she said she hoped to choose a candidate by this morning after downloading some information from the Internet.

"It's like shopping," she said. "It's a gut instinct. I'm not big into politics, so I'll think of what each one has to offer as people."

Contraras seemed to be speaking for a huge swath of the electorate yesterday, making up their minds at the end of an unusual New Hampshire campaign. No big issues sent voters spinning in the final weeks. The people who crowded into campaign events questioned the candidates closely about personality and character, as if checking off boxes on an Internet dating service.

One explanation for the unusual climate in New Hampshire is last week's storm in Iowa. In past election cycles, the Iowa caucuses were a stale appetizer to New Hampshire's meal, because native Midwesterners such as Iowa's own Senator Tom Harkin or former senator Bob Dole of Kansas wrapped them up early.

This year, Iowa was like a fractious family dinner, and New Hampshire the quiet breakfast the following morning. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean came in third in Iowa, and his personal qualities were put under the microscope. But Dean, like Madonna, has a way of dominating the news even when he's not especially popular: His frantic efforts to recoup his image -- joking about his "Iowa screech," offering interviews with his reclusive wife -- filled hours of television.

Without Dean to provoke disagreements, the other candidates played nice, emphasizing their own character rather than stressing policy differences.

So undecided voters were left with fewer differences on which to judge candidates, except personality: Connecticut Senator Joseph I. Lieberman based his stump speech on trustworthiness; retired General Wesley K. Clark emphasized his "higher standard of leadership"; Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry spoke of his experience in war: North Carolina Senator John Edwards promised a preacher-like emphasis on hope and inspiration; Dean offered straight talk and honesty.

Now, after thousands of passionate volunteers crisscrossed the state, choices will be made by hundreds of thousands of rather casual voters. They're the reason the outcome remains in doubt, because it's always in doubt when people are planning to wake up and smell the coffee before heading to the polls.

"I can always tell you who's going to win," promised Rose Marie Wadlinger of Concord. "The handsomest guy is going to win. Wes Clark will win."