From New Hampshire.

So, a guy walks into a Bernie Sanders campaign office somewhere in New Hampshire…. No really, no joke. To get to the office, you drive south out of town, duck under the interstate and follow a two-lane road past car dealerships, body repair shops, tire stores and then turn left at a sign that says: “Cash for Gold.” It’s a little strip office center, nestled between a storefront financial services office (Carly supporter there) and a salon of some sort (I think).

If you have any doubt as to who the establishment candidate is in this race you need only pinpoint the Hillary Clinton campaign office: locate Democratic Headquarters a block off Main Street in the center of town and walk a mere two doors down the street. There it is. Of course, they’ll tell you at Dem HQ that they’re not supporting either candidate–at least that’s what they told me when I asked for Hillary’s and Bernie’s speaking schedule. (“Best to check their websites.”) But the geography of the situation is unmistakable and there is a reason the Clinton campaign is here at not out seeking love on the wrong side of town.

A couple of snapshots of the ground games here. Nothing definitive, just some impressionistic musing. I emailed Bernie’s campaign to let them know I was coming into the state and wanted to volunteer. I let them know my background in field organizing which is not insubstantial, but also made it clear I would do anything from knocking on doors to training–not too proud to knock, said I. I did this on two separate contact submission forms on Bernie’s website, one specifically for volunteering in New Hampshire.

I also managed to get the email address for the state field director and wrote him directly, expressing the same desire. Total responses: zero. Now to be fair, I did not expect to hear from the state field director a week out from the primary. Too many other fires to put out. But any web form worth putting up could have, at a minimum, an automatic response generator that can email a volunteer back without the aid of human hands. Now, I also realize that canned responses are not really the way to go these days–the preference being a human response with a human touch–but nevertheless, I heard zero, zippo, nada.

On a whim, I decided to go to Hillary’s New Hampshire website and make the same offer. I was short and to the point: “Do you have any need for an experienced field organizer this last week?” I heard back within 24 hours from one of their New Hampshire coordinators, who wrote a very nice email asking me to get in touch with him.

Is this indicative in any way of what’s going to happen in New Hampshire? I don’t think so. But it does seem to confirm that Bernie’s campaign is running on the steam of enthusiasm for him and his message (as he says it is) and Hillary’s is running on the well-oiled, well staffed machine that only money and previous presidential campaign experience can buy.

Keep an eye on the polls. A solid win for Hillary here is if she manages to get within five points of the Bern. Not sure the media would play it that way, but that’s what their campaign surrogates are saying and I agree.