OPKINTON, N.H. - Two presidential candidates walk down the main drag of a New Hampshire town to meet the people.
One shakes hands with a random dozen who happen to be out at the same time, whether they recognize him or not. The other is greeted by hundreds of potential voters lining the sidewalks three deep for several blocks.
Such is the difference between Bill Bradley, a former senator, during a recent trip to Concord and Vice President Al Gore, who drew crowds in downtown Newport and Portsmouth with no advance hype, a result of Secret Service strictures.
There are no scientific gauges here in the first-primary state to determine who is up and who is not six months before any ballots are cast. In the Democratic contest, supporters of and activists for both candidates say they are judging momentum less by polls and endorsements than by gut.
There has been little polling, but the few polls that have been conducted currently give Gore a Granite State lead. On the endorsement front, Gore has an unsurprising edge as well. He has the unofficial backing of the governor, Jeanne Shaheen, 11 of the 13 Democratic senators, more than 100 House Democrats, and a smattering of mayors, including the upcoming endorsement by the mayor of Keene, Pat Russell.
Bradley, on the other hand, has one Democratic senator in his camp, one senator leaning toward him, and 18 House Democrats officially committed.
''I think we're having more fun,'' said Bradley, after giving a noontime talk Saturday to about 200 people at the Skyview Cafe and Brewery in Nashua.
Yesterday in Hopkinton, Gore jumped out of his bullet-proof Suburban and began working a 200-person Democratic picnic, getting his photo snapped with dozens of supporters under cloudy, spitting skies. He refused to cede the fun ground.
''It feels really good here,'' Gore said. ''I think partly because I'm having fun, I'm having a really good time.''
Bradley, the underdog taking on a sitting vice president, acknowledged to the Nashua crowd that he is trying to approach New Hampshire ''in a different way.''
During the dead of August, Bradley sent 500 volunteers knocking on 35,000 doors, dropping off campaign literature. While most political professionals say it is too early and too many people are on vacation for that type of tactic, Bradley backers got a charge out of the effort.
One woman told the candidate that what began as a campaign had turned into a movement as a result of the canvassing. Bradley said he is seeing a payoff from his seventh visit to the state this year.
''I'm operating on the premise that two winters in New Hampshire are better than one. The meetings are a little bigger now, and that's a good sign,'' he said. ''It's a day-by-day, week-by-week exercise.''
Most of the people who packed the bar of the Skyview on a perfect summer's day have already committed to Bradley and needed no persuading by the candidate.
''I followed his career because my son was a classmate at Princeton,'' said Betty Gimber. ''I'm supporting him wholeheartedly.'' Of Gore, she said, ''I don't think he would have a chance of winning.''
Ann Leach said she got to know Bradley from watching him on C-Span and was particularly impressed with a lecture he delivered during the impeachment process. ''We need a person who understands American history and our place in the world,'' she said. ''He's an influential person who understands how things should be.''
Gore has mixed his nine visits to New Hampshire this year with talks to hard-core supporters as well as their undecided friends. Michael J. Donovan, for example, did not know who he would support before he stood inside a sweltering barn in Etna recently to hear what the vice president had to say and how he would handle the varied questions of Donovan's neighbors.
''I was getting a little fascinated with Bill Bradley, who I've always had a lot of respect for, for years and years in the Senate,'' said Donovan, the owner of Winged Victory, an educational tour business that takes students to Washington, New York, and other cities. ''I'm really not on the fence any longer,'' he said. ''I just thought, it's very clear to me that Al Gore has a grasp of all the issues in great depth and breadth, and I now think he's the guy who ought to be the president. He's paid his dues and is on top of everything.''
Bill Verge, the Rockingham County Democratic chairman who backs Gore, said these visits with the voters are mandatory for a candidate to win the state. But unlike other Gore backers, Verge is willing to acknowledge the interest in Bradley and the excitement that swirls around his campaign.
''Challengers are always interesting,'' Verge said. ''He's using an insurgent kind of campaign, attracting some young people to that. In some ways, watching a challenger is more exciting.''
Verge said that Bradley's fund-raising has been impressive and that he has attracted a thoughtful group of activists to his side, including Sue Calegari, who once worked for Gary Hart, and John and Mary Rauh of Sunapee, both former candidates for Congress. He also said it is easy for people to take potshots at the incumbent vice president.
''I think Bradley is doing better than people thought he would do at this point,'' Verge said. ''There's a little bit of a race.''
Even so, the star quality of a vice president with a motorcade and a Secret Service contingent tends to overpower a low-key former senator who travels with only three aides.
A stop at Madden's ice cream stand in Merrimack on Saturday yielded several children asking the former Knicks player to autograph their basketballs, photographers shooting the candidate as he sloppily stuffed a lobster roll in his mouth, and very few voters.
On Sunday, Gore was greeted by a raucous crowd of about 200 Democrats in Laconia, long a Republican stronghold. He was also met by about 10 people protesting a trade policy that hinders the production of AIDS medication by South African companies. The protesters blew whistles, threw leaflets, and shouted, interrupting Gore's speech several times, a frontrunner's burden not shouldered by Bradley.
Jim Monahan, a prominent Democratic lobbyist who once backed Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, is neutral as he watches the race take shape. He says there are things he likes and dislikes about both candidates, though he gives Bradley points for being ''innovative'' and ''aggressive'' with his canvassing effort.
''For somebody who hasn't made up their mind yet, why do I need to decide today?'' he asks, observing the fray from a distance.
