izations that will be used throughout this paper. In a political campaign or movement, the term "horserace" places the candidate within the larger milieu of the political campaign. It accentuates how the candidate is doing and where in the "race" he or she is at the time. In this sense, one need only imagine a newscaster broadcasting the position of the candidate by comparison of who is ahead or behind, what the polls indicate, and who the likely winner is in other words, the odds for the particular candidate.3
Issue, on the other hand, is more substantive. In dealing with issue, one is less concerned with the position
3 Michael J. Robinson and Margaret A. Sheehan, Over the Wire and On TV, (New York: Russell Sage, 1980), passim.
in the race as with the quantity and quality of specific, identifiable, issues that are at the forefront of the campaign itself. Issues are "policy" and often symbolize the seriousness of the campaign. They involve major questions about the way the government should or should not address certain areas in social, political, or diplomatic life. These issues, in fact, "separate" the parties, and form the crux of the candidate's platform.4
The importance of the New Hampshire primary has already been mentioned, however, it should also be noted that it has been characterized as the "Mecca" for presidential candidates. In effect, although it ranks almost last in population, New Hampshire offers presidential hopefuls one of the last opportunities to practice one on one personal contact between the candidate and voter. Television and other media often use New Hampshire as a barometer for candidate popularity, indeed some go so far as to say that the type and quality of coverage a candidate receives in that state may either make or break the campaign.5 Ironically, the horserace in this situation is sometimes between networks or magazines and their ability to predict the accurate winners.6
5 J...