The nine candidates seeking the democratic nomination for president are picking up the pace of their campaigns.
But the latest poll data show that 27 percent of likely New Hampshire voters remain undecided about who they'd back in the state's January, 2004 primary.
That's created an opportunity for a group hoping to draft retired General Wesley Clark to become a democratic candidate.
NHPR correspondent Brian McWilliams reports on the grassroots effort to drum up support for Clark in the Granite State.
When Dover resident Susan Putney surveyed the field of democratic presidential hopefuls a few months ago, she was not impressed.
"I was just looking at the candidates, and there was nothing that appealed to me. And I said, bottom line is, we need a candidate who can beat Bush. And we don't believe that any of the current candidates can come through. They may get the nomination, but they are ultimately going to lose to George Bush."
Putney claims she's not a political activist.
She works as a marketing executive for a pay-per-view TV company.
But when she heard that retired General Wesley Clark was a possible presidential candidate, Putney sprang into action.
She's joined a handful of people nationwide who are leading a campaign to persuade the 58-year-old Clark to run for the democratic nomination.
They call themselves the Draft Wesley Clark Coalition.
Since coming together early in May, the group has created several web sites.
ONE OF THEM IS draftclark2004.com.
And earlier this month, the group bought 60-second advertisements that ran on AM radio airwaves around the Granite State.
"[Ad excerpt] Wouldn't it be great if we could create our own president, a real dream candidate ... just like President Eisenhower?"
The group plans to run more radio ads later this month.
They've also purchased banner advertisements at a number of New Hampshire newspaper web sites.
Clark visited New Hampshire last month, and Putney presented him with a printout of over 1,000 letters from people encouraging him to run.
Clark says he's honored by the attention.
But he has repeatedly said that he's a not a candidate.
In fact, the Arkansas native hasn't even said whether he's a democrat or a republican.
Clark reiterateS that his only interest at this point is in fostering a dialog about the future of America.
"I think that the American people need to think about who we are as a nation. What we stand for, what we do in the world. And I think that the ideas right now are more important than candidacies."
To publicize his ideas, Clark recently launched his own website, a red-white-and-blue affair called LeaderShipForAmerica.org.
HE CRITICIZES the Bush administration's foreign policy, especially the war on Iraq.
AND THAT?S won Clark a lot of fans among democrats.
But he says he's also concerned about domestic issues, from unemployment to civil rights to global warming.
It's a progressive message, often delivered with a military metaphor.
"The secret of a great armed forces is top-quality men and women in uniform. It's helping every single person be all they can be. Who's helping every American be all he or she can be?"
Some pundits have questioned whether the stately Clark has the stomach for national politics.
Some think the general will find repulsive the demands placed on a presidential candidate.
But Josh Macintosh, an Oklahoma-based PR consultant and one of the organizers of the Draft Clark campaign, says Clark didn't BECOME A RHODES SCHOLAR AND SUPREME NATO COMMANDER by being half-hearted.
"If he commits, if you look at the way this guy has lived his life, I don't think he's ever done anything halfway. And I think that if he announces for President, he'll be in it stronger and harder than anybody else."
So far, Clark has only a few outspoken supporters among New Hampshire's top democrats. That's according to the latest tally by the PoliticsNH.com website.
Manchester lawyer George Bruno was with the Democratic National Committee for 12 years.
He says he's a personal friend of Clark's, and has been providing him with advice.
According to Bruno, the democratic field is still wide open in the Granite State, and a Clark candidacy would resonate with voters.
"New Hampshire is his kind of state. It's a state with both conservative and liberal leanings. I think he would cut across ideological lines and party lines."
Draft Clark organizer Susan Putney says she's working to keep influential state democrats uncommitted until Clark decides whether he's running.
In the meantime, she and her grassroots campaigners will try to convince Clark that his country needs him.
One way they'll try to do that, she says, is to show him that he's already got an organization ready to help him hit the ground running in New Hampshire.
"That says something. That speaks volumes, to show that we've been able to do this on behalf of a candidate who hasn't even announced. I think that's a pretty powerful message."
For NHPR News, I'm Brian McWilliams.
