Forbes is currently running third in the New Hampshire polls, just ahead of Alan L. Keyes '72, and a bit behind McCain. For the so-called "third-tier candidates," the next few weeks are make-or-break. Poor showings in New Hampshire will likely narrow the Republican field.

Several of these campaigns are focusing on young voters to help mobilize other voters.

The challenge that Keyes and others face was evident Sunday night, at a gala dinner for the state's top fundraisers and volunteers. All six Republican candidates--George W. Bush, Gary L. Bauer, McCain, Forbes, Keyes and Orrin Hatch--were given 10 minutes to speak.

Forbes went first, giving a slightly modified version of his standard stump speech. Then came McCain, who tried to make news by lambasting Sen. Bill Bradley and Vice President Al Gore '69 for their views on the gays in the military policy. After George W. Bush finished speaking, his handlers made a strategic decision. They decided to leave, right then and there, for the campaign hotel, about 25 minutes away in Manchester.

The result: 50 members of Bush's traveling press corps--about half of the assembled press--trudged up the stairways while Keyes began to talk about America's "moral obligation."

Keyes aides acknowledged the problem.

"It's hard to avoid their tunnel-vision," said William Webber, Keyes's New Hampshire state chair.