ONCORD, N.H. - Governor George W. Bush awoke to some unpleasant news yesterday: He was still trailing Senator John S. McCain in several New Hampshire presidential primary polls.
But the real challenge appeared to be the applause.
The clapping was muted in Concord, where Bush spoke to a group of Merrimack Republicans at breakfast time. Virtually no one cheered in Hillsboro, when he addressed employees of a lightbulb firm. The night before, more than 100 expected guests failed to turn up at a Manchester Chamber of Commerce campaign stop. Not until a rally after last night's debate did Bush enjoy the lively reception he has grown accustomed to in other states.
To be sure, the weather has been miserable, and Bush, fresh off a victory in the Iowa caucuses, may be feeling the effects of the complacency that sometimes strikes supporters of front-running candidates. Yet his comparatively placid campaign style in the days leading up to the final GOP debate, did little to turn up the volume before last night, and it is helping shape this year's primary race.
On both the Democratic and Republican sides, there seem to be two increasingly distinct styles: the calm appeal to voters and the frenetic attack.
Two candidates, Bush and Democratic challenger Bill Bradley, appear to be taking the ''marathon approach'' to New Hampshire, treating their personal campaigning as part of a long journey in which they must pace themselves.
The others, especially Democratic Vice President Al Gore and McCain, are in a sprint. Their days are packed with events. Their remarks are aggressive.
And the fans, lining up to watch the race, are reflecting the difference, in their intensity at campaign events. The difference may also be showing up in the polls. New results from a Boston Globe/WBZ-TV daily tracking poll found Gore widening the gap over Bradley to 48 percent to 40 percent. McCain also extended his advantage over Bush to 36 percent to 31 percent.
The Globe/WBZ poll also found that support for former Ambassador Alan Keyes continued to creep up and now stands at 10 percent, just one point behind publisher Steve Forbes, who has invested millions of his own money in the campaign. Gary Bauer's support remains slight, at 3 percent.
The poll of 400 likely voters in each party's primary, based on sampling Tuesday and yesterday, has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
The contrast in style has perhaps been most vivid in the Democratic race.
On Monday, Gore trounced Bradley in Iowa, then was photographed frolicking in the snow on Tuesday, dressed in a mustard-colored barn jacket. Bradley, wearing his dress coat as usual, gave one long, rambling speech that afternoon, then disappeared until yesterday.
Eager to pick up the pace, Bradley has scheduled an uptempo tour of New Hampshire for at least the next four days, including several stops today near the seacoast and at least two town meetings tomorrow in Lebanon and Newport. On Saturday, he is scheduled to campaign from Bedford, outside Manchester, to Berlin and Hart's Location in northern New Hampshire.
The Bradley camp also said it will release tentative plans by Friday for Bradley's campaign schedule the week after the New Hampshire primary, reinforcing Bradley's contention that he has no plans to pull out of the race, no matter how he fares Tuesday.
McCain has been working tirelessly to outshine Bush, riding his campaign bus around the state and holding a total of 103 town meetings in recent months. On Tuesday night, while Bush was greeting less than 100 people in Manchester, McCain was receiving a rousing standing ovation from some 300 supporters at a town hall meeting in Londonderry, and that came after a day that began at 7 a.m., and included five major events and a bus breakdown.
Millionaire publisher Steve Forbes, meanwhile, has made just four appearances with New Hampshire voters since returning from Iowa late Monday night. On Tuesday, Forbes spoke to about 30 workers at a Hooksett beauty-supply company, and later to around 100 people at Yoken's restaurant in Portsmouth.
Bush, sensitive to accusations earlier this year that he was taking the state and its voters for granted, is nonetheless planning to speed up his schedule dramatically today and tomorrow. Aides pointed out that his lighter day on Tuesday followed his arrival in Manchester at 2:30 a.m. the night before.
The following Globe reporters, traveling with the candidates, contributed to this report: Bob Hohler, Mike Crowley, Tina Cassidy and Ann Scales.
