Massachusetts also has an active chapter of Carter's "Committee of 51.3 Per Cent," (the percentage of women in the U.S. population). Co-chaired by Kitty Dukakis, the Governor's wife, the group bears little resemblance to the stamp-licking "ladies auxiliary" groups of past campaigns. Instead, the committee, composed of women leaders including Radcliffe President Horner, concentrates on convincing women to vote for Carter because of his support of legislation helpful to women and "sensitivity to (their) needs."

But if the women's groups have coalesced behind Carter's Massachusetts campaign, the same cannot necessarily be said for Boston's political factions. One Boston politician, who wishes to remain unidentified, notes a lingering antagonism between backers of Mayor Kevin H. White and those who support State Sen. Joseph Timilty, the mayor's last challenger.

Disagreement arose, the politician said, not over support for Carter but over who would operate the Massachusetts campaign. Timilty, an early support of Carter, is now running the Georgian's Pennsylvania campaign, but many of his people are active in the Massachusetts effort.

Carter press secretary Jesser, who did press work in the Timilty campaign as well, denies that a White-Timilty split has affected the Carter campaign. Citing several former White staffers now working for Carter, he terms relations between the two groups "good natured." "We take shots at them (White supporters) and they take shots at us," Jesser says.

If Carter staffers are pressed to discuss campaign problems, most list the money shortage and difficulties presented by the new federal election laws rather than internal divisions. The new laws have caused general confusion about what kinds of organizations can do what sorts of things on Carter's behalf. Labor unions, for instance, must closely adhere to federal standards about soliciting votes. Supervising adherence to the laws has become one of the campaign's chief responsibilities.

But despite all the supervising, all the organizing, all the leafleting and all the statements to the contrary, there must be some underlying feeling among Carter workers that the campaign in Massachusetts is just going through the motions. No Republican besides Eisenhower has triumphed here since 1924; McGovern won handily; the Bay State GOP is in disarray.

After the 1972 election, Massachusetts cars began sporting bumper stickers saying "Don't Blame Me, I'm From Massachusetts." If Jimmy Carter loses on November 2, he certainly won't be able to blame his Massachusetts campaigners. It may look like a local landslide, but that may be just what Carter wants