In the next six days, Republican and Democratic presidential candidates will do in New Hampshire as the Tribunes did in Rome--don the white robe and humbly ask as many citizens as possible for their support.

Fresh from their victories in Monday's Iowa caucuses, the two frontrunners, Texas Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore '69 arrived in Manchester early yesterday morning. The latest tracking polls show Arizona Senator John S. McCain with a slight lead over Bush and show Gore and Bradley with an equal number of supporters.

The primary is Feb. 1--and the final debate is tonight.

During this final stretch, Harvard Democrats and Republicans, along with supporters from around New Hampshire and Massachusetts, have braved the chilly weather to greet their candidates.

Late Monday night, vans carrying Massachusetts college students--most Bush supporters--began the hour-and-a-half trip to the Manchester airport. The Texas governor's staff rented an entire plane hangar and stocked it with sodas and pizza. To pump up the crowd, Jock Jams thumped in the background.

After Bush's plane touched down at 2 a.m, the candidate told his happy audience he was pleased with his Iowa showing of 41 percent. His staffers added that Bush would now focus on luring more conservative voters away from Steve Forbes and Alan L. Keyes '72

"Candidates plan campaign strategy around the Iowa caucus--it is part of

the dynamics of the campaign," said Marty Linsky, a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government. "But things won't change too much because of what happened in Iowa. New Hampshire has had a long history of being independent from Iowa."