Concord, N.H. ? Magic the dog is dead, but first-person presidential politics lives on.

In the last presidential round, Linda Kaiser accidentally backed over her black Shetland sheepdog, Magic, while waiting for Republican presidential hopeful John Kasich to arrive at her Amherst, N.H., home for coffee. After the event, Kasich stayed and helped Kaiser dig the dog’s grave, and in the weeks to follow, he called to cheer her up.

The former Ohio congressman dropped out of the race before the 2000 New Hampshire primary, but Kasich’s good deed reinforced Kaiser’s belief in the importance of retail politics — wooing voters one at a time by campaigning in living rooms, along Main Street or at the town dump.

“How you form your opinions of people is by listening to them — meeting them one-on-one,” Kaiser said recently. “It’s critically important that someplace in the United States that takes place.”

New Hampshire prides itself on being that place, and state officials, Republicans and Democrats, warn that no underdog will be elected president if the selection process starts in a big state instead.

These days, New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary status is under siege, with Michigan trying to grab the lead role. Democratic officials there argue that Michigan’s larger, more diverse population is a better representation of the country than New Hampshire — third from last in minority population.

Still, for the 2004 Democratic candidates, New Hampshire remains the place for glad-handing voters and courting party activists.

Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut has attracted crowds to coffee shops with his “Cup of Joe with Joe.” Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri has talked health care with workers at a small printing company. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts answered questions about the war in a library basement. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina returns next week to visit a T-shirt factory in Derry.