ABSTRACT
On January 31, 2000, it seemed as if Christmas Eve had come again to Washington, D.C. Like a small child listening for the sound of Santa coming down the chimney with a bag full of toys, the chattering class in Washington was quivering with excitement. At the stroke of midnight on January 31, Santa Claus arrived in the guise of the good citizens of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, population thirty-three. Every four years, all of the registered voters of this tiny hamlet gather together for a timeless ritual of democracy—casting the first votes of the New Hampshire primary. The eerie silence of winter is broken by the merry chirping of birds building nests to prepare for the arrival of new life. And all across the nation, optimistic baseball fans crave the sound of horsehide on leather that marks the opening day of the season in which, no doubt, their team will finally make it to the World Series.
