MANCHESTER, N.H. — With New England’s attention focused squarely on the battle between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees taking place 60 miles away at Fenway Park, 600 reporters filled a gymnasium at St. Anselm’s College to watch eight Democratic presidential hopefuls parry and debate.

Seven months from the New Hampshire primary, June 3 is an extraordinarily early date for a major political contest. The last time CNN came to these parts for a major debate was November 5, 2003. The news network procured Boston’s Faneuil Hall for a “Rock the Vote” debate. I was working for the City of Boston, which owns that venue, at the time and remember walking past the prospective candidates who were lined up in the order they would take their seats. Senators Lieberman and Kerry waited calmly as Howard Dean, in a world of his own before his campaign peaked, put his hands together energetically as he readied himself to take the national stage. Back then, I had the sense that Governor Dean was a candidate entering the spotlight, but I did not anticipate the way Dr. Dean would peak and then fall so precipitously.

Senator Clinton immediately established herself as a candidate who could be credible on national security. With Senators Obama (once again) and Edwards befuddled by a question about the war on terror, Mrs. Clinton gave a crisp declarative answer befitting the risk New Yorkers and all Americans face in the modern world: “I am a senator from New York. I have lived with the aftermath of 9/11, and I have seen first-hand the terrible damage that can be inflicted on our country by a small band of terrorists.” The only other candidate to demonstrate a national security posture comparable with these dangerous days was Senator Biden, who defended his recent vote to fund the troops in Iraq.

The army of surrogates she quickly dispatched into the spin room on the parquet of St. Anselm’s basketball gym reinforced her strong performance. Minutes after the debate ended, Senator Clinton’s chief consultant, Mark Penn, held court, answering questions from a throng of print and television reporters. Meanwhile, a solitary aide stood carrying a sign bearing the name of Mr. Penn’s counterpart on the campaign of Mr. Obama, David Axelrod, who did not show for another 30 minutes. Then, looking somewhat deflated, Mr. Axelrod meekly attempted to declare victory. “He had a chance to talk about the price of health care” as well as the “need to solve our big problems without tearing each other apart.”

For a candidate who has made a name for himself as a stirring orator, Mr. Obama is coming up flat when forced to engage his electoral opponents. Mr. Axelrod did not acknowledge this, though he did say “leadership is measure not by tactics in the campaign but what candidates do in real time.”

The candidate who is positioning himself to co-opt Mr. Obama’s supporters is Senator Edwards. Perhaps remembering the way that Dr. Dean eventually collapsed, Mr. Edwards is chiding and praising Mr. Obama simultaneously. First, Mr. Edwards lurched leftward and criticized the way Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton cast their votes on the funding of troops in Iraq. At the same time, he made sure to say nice things about them. He went out of his way to say he agreed with Mrs. Clinton, that “all of us want to end this war.” Mr. Edwards also gave cover to Mrs. Clinton on a question about whether she had read the National Intelligence Estimate prior to the vote on the Iraq War vote, saying he too received intelligence information via briefings. Then, Mr. Edwards said Mr. Obama “deserves to be credited because he laid out what the cost is.” He linked his health care plan with Mr. Obama’s again, saying “all the savings that Senator Clinton just talked about are in my plan, and they’re in Senator Obama’s plan.” Mr. Obama kindly responded that Mr. Edwards plan contained “good elements.”

The early stages of the New Hampshire primary are not just about debates. The construction of a strong political organization is also crucial. Here, Senator Clinton again showed strength. Bill Shaheen, a longtime Clinton political ally and the husband of former New Hampshire governor, Jeanne Shaheen, spoke to me as he waited to appear on local television. “She convinced voters in New Hampshire she knew the issues,” Mr. Shaheen said.

Congressman McGovern of Worcester, Mass., also spoke on Mrs. Clinton’s behalf after the debate. His presence seemed to escape notice of most national reporters, but it was important in two key respects. First, the support Mr. McGovern, who introduced a bill calling for the end of funding to the Iraq War as early as 2005 (this was in advance of most Democratic opinion), holds sway among antiwar voters regionally. His support can mute criticism of Mrs. Clinton from the left. Second, and even more key, is that Mr. McGovern sits atop a regionally powerful political organization in Worcester County. Worcester lies only an hour and 20 minutes from Manchester and is even closer to other voter-rich precincts. “I will get my organization to go wherever she wants it to go,” Mr. McGovern said. In 2004, his foot soldiers traveled every weekend to Concord.