ANCHESTER, N.H. - The Cookie Mom morphed into Lola, pig of the Pentagon. Monks in maroon with saffron sashes boogied in freezing slush. Captain Climate and his sidekick, Boy Atmosphere, warned of the dangers of global warming.
As the presidential contenders prepared for their last New Hampshire debate inside the studios of WMUR-TV last night, the streets and parking lots outside the station evolved into a big, good-natured mosh pit where campaign workers competed for attention with critics of everything from social work to excess wealth.
''We're in the money,'' crooned Lola the pig, ''we're in the money.''
''Bush, Forbes, Trump, Gore, we don't care who you vote for,'' chanted members of Big Money United, a fanciful coalition of Millionaires for Gore, Billionaires for Bush, and Trillionaires for Trump forged to campaign against money politics.
All were foot soldiers in crusaders for causes, issue-oriented activists who will try almost anything legal - including making themselves look silly - to pump up interest in their agendas in a campaign that so far has been riveted on candidates' personalities.
''We are here to make sure global warming is treated on the same level with health care and education,'' said Captain Climate, also known as Matt Stembridge of the organization Ozone Action, a red-suited young man in yellow-tinted harlequin glasses who is training to be a professional organizer. ''We want all the candidates to have a plan on global warming.''
Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, an alliance of business and military people who believe the Pentagon budget can be reduced 15 percent without damaging national security, is making a major effort in New Hampshire - as it did in Iowa - because the two states have small, affordable media markets with people available who can manage a campaign effectively, said Duane Peterson, chief of stuff at Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream in Burlington, Vt.
Ben and Jerry's cofounder Ben Cohen is the prime mover of the group, which wants to move excess money from the military budget into new spending for education and health care.
''Our goal is to inject this issue into the campaign,'' Peterson said. ''The attention paid to the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary allow us to leverage attention to our issue.''
The advocacy groups on the street last night fell along a broad political spectrum, encompassing moderate and extreme conservatives as well as liberals of every flavor.
Prominent among the conservative organizations was Citizens for a Sound Economy, a fiscal watchdog group with more than 250,000 members nationwide. Its members were objects of bipartisan appreciation last night, as they gave away ear-warmers and hot coffee to all comers, with or without an accompanying political chat - whatever the recipient preferred.
''I am pumped to be here, even though my toes are so cold,'' said Jennifer Garcia, 24, of Del Ray Beach, Fla., who said she is a conservative but without a party affiliation because ''I support whoever supports my ideas.''
Citizens for a Sound Economy is campaigning for a flat tax and reform of the legal system and against taxes on e-business and Social Security, said Rob Varsalone, a former New Hampshire state representative who is deputy director of the group's operations in the Granite State.
''We speak to groups, organize debates, and, yes, we bird-dog the candidates a little to speak to our issues,'' he said, noting that the group's strategy, in contrast to confrontational groups, is to ask candidates to comment in areas where they agree.
''Senator McCain is good on the Internet, so we ask him about the Internet,'' Varsalone said. ''We ask Bush about tort reform because he's great on tort reform.''
There are limits to nonpartisan feel-good though. ''We just try to figure out what Gore's position is,'' he said.
Most all the advocates pronounced themselves satisfied with the results of their organizations' New Hampshire efforts; the attention they attract in this state is well worth a few frozen toes, they said.
''The candidates won't stop thinking about the defense-spending issue,'' said Shireen Tilley, New Hampshire coordinator of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities. ''All over the state, people applauded when our questions [about cutting Pentagon waste] were asked. They won't forget New Hampshire.''
