s the presidential candidates barnstormed through the frozen landscapes of New Hampshire and Iowa last week in search of votes, a carefully selected group of likely voters settled into a conference room near the Government Center T station to talk about feelings.
The room was neutral-colored, the voters conservative-leaning independents from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, the exercise for the evening a focus group - a staple research tool highly unfashionable in a campaign the candidates want to define by the politics of authenticity.
The focus was on Republicans George W. Bush and John McCain.
''The election will come ... to how these Republicans are communicating with independents,'' said Peter D. Hart, a nationally known pollster and political analyst, as the 10 participants took seats on the other side of a one-way mirror. ''What I am trying to learn is where the race is now.''
What follows illustrates vividly why focus groups have become a treasured tool of marketers, whether they are selling soap, salvation, or politicians.
The group of five men and five women included Rhode Island homemaker Dawn Kerr, Massachusetts health-club agent Tracey Geran, and New Hampshire chef Jim Iozzo. One person is disabled, one widowed, one divorced, one single.
Hart warms them up with chat about taxes and political priorities. What are their worries? Their passions? Who are their heroes? He glides smoothly from subject to subject, friendly but increasingly firm as he moves the toward gut feelings. Then:
''OK, lightning round,'' Hart says briskly, asking each person to respond with one word as he mentions political figures. ''Clinton.''
There is a quick intake of breath.
''Slick,'' says Tom McCauley, a researcher for a Massachusetts company. ''Immoral,'' adds Kerr. Then comes a tumble of voices: Trashy. Slippery. Con man. Jerk.
Bush: Smirky. Sneaky. Cocky.
Democrat Al Gore: Honest, mannequin, politician all the way. Stiff. Wooden. Decent.
McCain: Honorable. Classy. Stiff. Honest. Quick temper. Tough.
''Some Republicans want to use the budget surplus for deep tax cuts, others want to pay down the national debt and maintain Social Security,'' Hart says, outlining a difference between Bush and McCain without using their names. ''Choose `A' for tax cuts, `B' for Social Security and the national debt.''
Nancy Savoy, a special-needs tutor, is the only person to choose ''A'' - even though she says she is leaning toward McCain, the chief advocate of ''B.''
''Social Security has to be fixed,'' says Martin Cullity, a retired disabled man, who nevertheless says he is leaning toward Bush, a strong advocate of maximum tax cuts.
As the group churns through one issue after another, it becomes increasingly clear that abortion, term limits, trade, and other hot-button issues of the recent past are not burning concerns this time. Some say tax issues are important, but no one says they will be decisive.
''I don't believe a word of what they say about taxes,'' says Arline Brightman, a receptionist in a doctor's office. Mary Shea, a preschool teacher, agrees.
''Candidates use taxes as a way to lose the average person'' and divert attention from other issues, says Ed Schreider, a high school teacher.
Two hours fly by as the group talks about:
Why Bush is far ahead in the polls. Brightman: ''Big campaign war chest.'' McCauley: ''Money.'' Schreider: ''His father.''
What would a weekend with the candidate and his wife be like? Bush: Entertaining, fun. McCain: Down to earth.
Eight of the 10 say they could not stand to have Gore in the White House, most citing his long association with President Clinton as the reason. But all the Bush sympathizers say they could accept McCain, and all but one McCain backer could live with Bush.
They fall suddenly silent when Hart asks what would be best about Bush as president. Brightman says, ''Experience.''
Hart continues: ''If I could bring George W. Bush in here right now, what question would you ask him?''
Geran: ''Beyond taxes, what's important to you?''
Savoy: ''Why does he really want to be president?''
McCauley: ''Why does he feel the need to be so evasive about [whether he used] cocaine?''
Why do they think Bush wants the job?
Cullity: ''Ego. Power.''
Iozzo: ''Power.''
Schreider: ''Legacy.''
The questions yield more positive adjectives for McCain, but also doubts.
''Certainly he's a lot less polished than George W.,'' Kerr says. ''It makes me wonder will he be able to get things done in Washington.''
McCauley: ''He's more to the left than to the right.''
Schreider: ''Does he truly have a temper?''
Hart has long done polls and focus groups for Democratic candidates but is not involved with any candidate this time. Hart and Republican pollster Robert Teeter are collaborating on the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll. The Boston focus group was the second in a series Hart will conduct on this election for his own public speaking and interpretation of poll data.
''We don't know if an individual in that room represents 5 percent or 45 percent,'' Hart said afterward. ''A poll will give you that. But the one person gives me insights I couldn't get any other way - a sense of the depth and dynamic of an issue.
''There's no question or set of questions that would allow me to understand George W. Bush's smirk,'' Hart said. ''Listening to them, I recognize he has an aspect of his appearance that turns people off and creates a gulf. You can't ask people in a poll what do you think of his smirk.''
