Lou Picks The Prez

[Lou] is a smiley, often buoyant lug who is always urging people to "Have a great American day."

So why does he get to pick the president?

[Because] he is a heady fluke of geography and political math: D'Allesandro, 65, is one of six Democrats in the state senate. He is the only one, until recently, who had not endorsed a presidential candidate. So he is subject to attention and affection and many, many Christmas cards. This is his reward for being a state senator from New Hampshire instead of, say, Kentucky. It is also his reward for being indecisive -- or at least dragging out his choice.

Alernatively,

Because he can. And because it's fun.

Of course, he doesn't decide alone, and there are people - say, Bill Clinton - whose opinions carry a lot more weight. However, if you calculated out the power held by every citizen in electing the next president, with the average being an ideal 1 voter=1 vote, some people would be a lot more equal than others. I might equal 0.01, if I'm lucky. Gandhi, with his New Hampshire vote, might equal 5.8 (and maybe 508 if there was a relevant Republican primary). Lou D'Allesandro, the only uncommitted Democratic State Senator from the Granite State equals a few hundred thousand, if not a million.

Campaign officials express exasperation with D'Allesandro (although only behind his back). "He's milking this thing for all its worth," one high-level campaign operative complains. D'Allesandro's been around. He treats the candidates as well as he can. He takes their flattery and returns it. But only to a point. "My motto is, 'Always leave them wanting more D'Allesandro,' " he says, laughing... "I pinch myself sometimes," says D'Allesandro, who was invited to the Clinton White House four times. "I say, 'Only in America.' "

Of course, this doesn't endear every candidate to the State Where Almighty God Makes Men.

Apparently Kerrey had forgotten to offer the activist a cookie when they stopped in at a bakery. She was insulted. And she was prepared to endorse Tom Harkin. "I had to have breakfast with her the next day," Kerrey says. After an extended grovel, he managed to win her back, but this does not sound fun in the retelling. Kerrey finished third in New Hampshire, behind Paul Tsongas and Bill Clinton, which essentially doomed his campaign. As he left the state, Kerrey posed for a photo flipping the bird next to a "Leaving New Hampshire" sign.