Campaign Doldrums

GOFFSTOWN, N.H.--As Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton prepared to answer a question on the economy during Sunday night's debate at Saint Anselm's College here, a collective groan went up from the crowd of journalists who had gathered in the makeshift press room.

"I don't know if we're going to make any news tonight," confessed Clinton, who went on to say that the Democratic candidates were basically in agreement in their opposition to President Bush and his economic policies.

As Clinton well knows, such agreement is fine for a party that has a history of divisiveness and self-destructiveness in presidential politics.

But consensus is death for reporters who rely on conflict, colorful sound bites and revealing exchanges between the candidates for their stories.

Instead of flash, the press got substance during the last televised debate. Only former Gov. Edmund G. Brown departed from decorum, sneaking his 800 number into a closing argument. The press room erupted in laughter and applause.

It was one of few thrills for the press during a debate where conflict was rare and a campaign where revealing moments were nearly non-existent.

And their stories showed it.

The Boston Globe's news analysis the morning after the debate called the debate dull and said it did little to point out differences between the candidates. The New York Times satirically termed it an "intellectual Olympiad."

As journalists and so-called journalists flooded New Hampshire in record numbers this week, the press ended up even more frustrated.

In past elections, the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses have served as an effective media buffer for the state.

But this year, with the caucuses conceded to favorite son Sen. Tom Harkin, the Granite State was left unprotected from the national press. Without Iowa to cover during January, the national press has had its sights on this state for months.

According to Peggy Brandon, a reservations clerk for a Holiday Inn in Manchester, hotel rooms during the two weeks before the primary were booked up in December.

"We've been full from like the eighth until Wednesday," said Brandon, adding that Wednesday morning had seen a mass exodus of reporters from the state.

Before the reporters left town, most spent their time following the candidates from stump speech, peppering the presidential hopefuls with questions about their standing in the race and desperately hoping their answers would make news.

Of course, sometimes the candidates grow tired of the game.

At a press conference after a campaign stop in Concord Monday, Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, in response to four consecutive questions about his standing in the polls, called the election "an open race," implying that he might finish higher than predicted.

A reporter followed up by asking what would happen if Kerrey finished fifth. "Are you a mathematician?" Kerrey shot back. "I'm not going to finish fifth. Next question."

When the candidates get testy, there is only one thing that can break the monotony of The Road and The Stump: The Scandal.

Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, in the tradition of former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, was the target this year, with allegations of marital infidelity and draft dodging surfacing in the press.

But this year was different. The story was covered so extensively that Clinton's main opponent became the press.

When the Arkansas governor rebounded from polls, showing him losing support to gain a strong second place finish, Clinton celebrated victory--over the media.

"At least, I've proved one thing," Clinton said in Merrimack Tuesday night. "I can take a punch."

Although the campaign did not always entertain the press corps, some reporters said they were said to see New Hampshire go.

"I'm gonna miss this," one Manchester Union-Leader reporter mumbled to a colleague as they watched the election returns roll in Tuesday night.

"Before the election, we could get better access than some of the national press. Now we're nobodies."