It’s not taxes or terrorism. It’s not abortion or gay marriage.

What’s going to win the White House this November is the sun at their back, the wind rushing through their hair, and little drops of sweat running down those presidential-looking brows.

At least, that’s what some of the presidential image-makers are counting on.

In one corner we have Senator Kerry, who has been on an all-out sports offensive this year. He’s done his level best to appear as the well-rounded outdoorsy candidate. He rides his fancy Serrata bicycle all the time. He skis, snowboards, and windsurfs. He tosses a football – a la the Kennedys – and even goes bowling.

President Bush is no slouch either when it comes to outdoor activity. He’s a longtime long-distance runner and is associated with baseball – albeit as an owner and not a slugger. He rides horses and works on his ranch. Plus, he’s got the military behind him: this guy’s landed a jet on an aircraft carrier – sort of.

“They’re both interested in sports,” said Lionel Tiger, Darwin professor of anthropology at Rutgers University and author of “The Decline of Males” and “Men in Groups.” “They’re both fairly aggressive in their aggression.”

But the candidates aren’t running around outside just for kicks. All their workouts make a point. They’re trying to look, well, chill.

“Relaxed, calm, and able to relate to working people,” said political consultant Hank Sheinkopf. “Not a lot of people wear three-piece suits all day long. They need to be normal human beings, not patricians.”

Mr. Tiger agreed that it’s not so much the activities that matter as the healthy glow.

“Not an athletic image, but a fitness image,” he said. “We know that fit people do better and they’re more efficient with their energy. We know that exercise is a remedy for depression. These guys are not going to be depressed.”

But all the professors and consultants are just repackaging what the ladies already know.

“It shows they are healthy. They are active. They can fly from country to country on a moment’s notice,” said jewelry designer and girl-about-town Zani Gugelmann. “It makes them good role models.”

“It means that they’re not couch potatoes. When a man works out, it makes him look sexy,” said the owner of the lingerie shop La Petite Coquette, Rebecca Apsan.

If a sporty image is a sexy image, then the election will boil down to tastes.

“Mr. Kerry is so much more masculine. I saw that windsurfing photo and thought he was totally hunky,” said Marc Malkin, news director of Us Weekly. “He’s butch. Kerry has what, three purple hearts? Bush has, what was it, the National Guard?”

But others go absolutely ga-ga over President Bush looking all tan and virile in jeans and that tan Carhart jacket. The belt buckle alone puts the sex in Texas.

There may, however, be a very easy reason that Senator Kerry has tried to win this race as, well, a race.

“Mr. Kerry has a size advantage. George Bush gives the physical impression of being compact,” Mr. Tiger said. “Mr. Kerry has a lean and hungry look. He’s got the grace of an athlete. Mr. Bush is an exerciser.”

Furthermore, he said, “In general, bigger candidates usually win over smaller candidates – unless the bigger is at the waist.”