New Hampshire, Wednesday, January 21

8:20 A.M., Dean HQ, Manchester: The Dean building is a combination of the rustic and the high tech. The floor is simple plywood, with the occasional protruding nail. Wires dangle from the ceiling like jungle vines and the pipes, cables, and ventilation ducts are all exposed. And yet headquarters is littered with row upon row of computers, always occupied by a shifting company of young people. It has the feel of a well-run hive.
This morning the hive is packed with workers and a hefty contingent of press because Howard Dean is scheduled to address his campaign before retiring for the remainder of the day to his home in Burlington. The assemblage resembles nothing so much as a student-faculty mixer, with the mostly under-25 Deaniacs and the middle-age press corps eyeing one another suspiciously. When questioned about even the smallest matter, the Deaniacs dutifully explain that they shouldn’t speak to the press without getting permission first.