More than a few Texas twangs could be heard in the sign-waving crowd gathered to see George W. Bush outside the Loaf and Ladle in Exeter, N.H., last Monday. And there among them, holding her own blue and white "Bush 2000" sign and smiling for a picture, was Maxine Isaacs, adjunct lecturer from the Kennedy School of Government and a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat who served as Walter Mondale’s press secretary during his presidential bid in the early ’80s.

Lifelong Democrats Heather Campion (left) and Maxine Isaacs jokingly grab a Bush sign to blend in with Republicans outside the Loaf and Ladle resturant in Exeter, N.H.

No, Isaacs wasn’t defecting to the Grand Old Party. She was just having a bit of fun during a field trip with students in her spring course, The 2000 Presidential Campaign and Election.

"This was just a fun trip to give them a chance to observe the process in action," Isaacs said.

With a packed itinerary to rival those of the candidates themselves, the 50 Kennedy School students spent the day before the New Hampshire primary getting closer to the action than they’d ever imagined.

"They were very surprised by the scale of everything – how up-close and personal it was," said Isaacs. "Some of them shook hands with both Bush and McCain. It was that close. They were truly surprised by how accessible the candidates were."

Leslie Goodman (left), a Republican political strategist and former KSG fellow, and Ruben Navarrette (center), a mid-career MPA student/journalist at the Kennedy School, chat with Boston Globe columnist Thomas Oliphant after a discussion with reporters at the Center of New Hampshire Hotel in Manchester.

Indeed, after Bush failed to show up at the Exeter gathering, the students were thrilled to discover his campaign bus at a restaurant in Derry, where he greeted them, shook hands, and then was gone in a flash.

The students’ tour brought them next to the Derry Opera House, where a 40-minute wait was rewarded when Fletcher University Professor Cornel West introduced his candidate, former Sen. Bill Bradley. After Bradley’s speech, a quick lunch of sandwiches on the bus was followed by a roundtable discussion with reporters in Manchester.

Kennedy School student Insun Kang (left), a mid-career student at the Kennedy School, boards the bus carrying a McCain souvenir while Kitty Guckenberger (behind), a student at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, sips coffee.

Next stop was the Bedford Town Hall. While rock ‘n’ roll blared over the sound system, some members of the large, waiting crowd tossed footballs until Sen. John McCain appeared. After a short speech by the man about to stun the nation with his lopsided victory, confetti guns shot a rainbow of ticker-tape onto the crowd. Again, several KSG students got to shake hands with McCain before heading off to flush out Vice President Al Gore at a town meeting in Amherst.

There, despite what appeared to be plenty of room, the students were turned away by Secret Service agents who said the hall was full. "This [lack of access] was what the students had expected from the whole day," said Isaacs. "But in three out of four cases, they got very close to the candidates."

In fact, Isaacs said one of her students was so impressed by the experience that he wrote to thank her personally.

"During my time at Harvard, I figure there will be a handful of experiences that will have a major impact on me and will leave me with a lasting impression," he wrote. "Yesterday’s trip to New Hampshire will certainly be one of those days! When I returned last night . . . I spent hours on the phone to family and friends to tell them what I had experienced. Thank you so much!"

Kennedy School student Tadeshi Akimoto (left) speaks with Boston Globe columnist Curtis Wilkie at a round table discussion for reporters and KSG students at the Center of New Hampshire Hotel in Manchester, N.H.