ANCHESTER, N.H. - Bill Bradley can lull you to sleep with his soothing voice, get you to think big thoughts about man's place in the world, how we should be one with nature and love our neighbors. He quotes Toni Morrison on the stump and can be moved to tears, as he was yesterday, by stories about people without health insurance.
While some may think the Democrat's soft style is odd, what's stranger is watching him and Republican John McCain. The two outsiders challenging the party establishment have vastly different approaches to campaigning but are targeting many of the same independent voters, with similar success.
If Bradley is the zen candidate, McCain is the Jedi master, fully caffeinated, willing to affectionately call an aide ''you little jerk'' or answer any question (''I never smoked marijuana''... ''I will not serve as vice president'') with focused intensity.
They share a common zeal for the issue of campaign-finance reform, believing big money is the root of most evil in politics. They even reached across party lines and shook hands on working together to overhaul the fund-raising system. And both say they would not use polls to help set their agenda in the White House.
But there, they part ways, in style and substance and it's evident in New Hampshire.
Bradley keeps his talks short and does not linger, while McCain will shake every hand and sign every book (he wrote ''Faith of my Fathers'') in the room. Bradley travels by van, alone with top aides, while McCain rides on the Straight Talk Express bus packed with media. Bradley will simultaneously chew gum and quote Morrison, an African-American poet and author, on the subject of race, while McCain will close a town hall meeting with the words of the ''great philosopher, Mayor Daley of Chicago, `Vote early and vote often.'''
As a result, Bradley is fending off criticism that he is arrogant and aloof, while McCain is often perceived as irreverent.
Yet independent voters, whose numbers are growing in New Hampshire especially in the southern part of the state, appear to be drawn by both candidates' ''refreshing'' styles as much as the issues they talk about.
Tracking polls over the last week show Bradley and Democratic rival Al Gore just points apart, but statistically tied within the margin of error, among independent voters; likewise for McCain and his chief opponent, Texas Governor George W. Bush.
''Because both elections are tight, 1 or 2 percent of that vote could make the difference,'' said Andy Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, about the independent voters, who number 37 percent here. ''But it's not a matter of whether it's refreshing. I think the key is how genuine it is. Both candidates appear genuine. They're comfortable in what they're saying.''
Smith and other political analysts suggest that Bush and Gore are coming across as too scripted. Bush seems to be getting more spontaneous, particularly in televised debates, Smith said. ''I think Gore's having the most difficult problem in deciding what personality to wear, what style to use. He still looks forced,'' he said.
Independent voters are more likely to consider personal style more important than policy positions, analysts said. Many independents may not pay close attention to the race every day, but are more likely to turn out if the race is tight.
Independents are also more likely to be influenced by personality, political scientists said, because they feel isolated from the political process and are looking for a human connection.
That may be why Bradley's support is slipping in New Hampshire and Iowa.
According to Lou DiNatale, senior fellow at the McCormack Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, independent voters have been choosing Bradley over Gore in tracking polls because of his maverick image, but once some of them hear the former New Jersey senator speak, they are put off. And the latest polls show Bradley's early popularity is eroding in New Hampshire as more unenrolled voters hear him speak, he said.
''One has a personality surplus, the other has a personality deficit,'' DiNatale said referring to McCain and Bradley, respectively.
Yesterday, two sides of Bradley were on display.
At the Salemhaven Senior Center in Salem, N.H., Bradley addressed the residents in a room that is sometimes used as a chapel, with a cross and stained glass on one wall. And he sounded like a minister.
''My campaign is about asking good people to come forward and join us so our goodness can be heard,'' Bradley said.
Later, just down the road at the Wonder Years child care center, Bradley showed emotion.
Cathy Perry, who has no health insurance, said her young son once apologized for getting sick because he knew the doctor bill would be costly. The story moved Bradley to tears, and he had to compose himself after the Pelham woman spoke before he could launch into his speech.
''Sometimes,'' he said, ''it's important when reality enters a political campaign.''
Mary Ruddig, a teacher and registered independent supporting Bradley, spoke about students who come to school sick because their families don't have health insurance.
After her endorsement, Bradley conceded that ''an election will always be about something broader than issues. Issues are a way of defining character, but they're not the only way.''
