MANCHESTER, NH -- The countdown to the New Hampshire primary is on. Mitt Romney is leading in the polls by double digits, even as Jon Huntsman is surging a bit.

All the candidates are zig-zagging across the state, pleading for people to show up and vote for them. Romney is the clear favorite, so it's a contest for second place, and Huntsman is pushing hard for that spot.

Huntsman faced a crush of reporters and cameras at every stop Monday. The campaign theme has become "Country First,"referring to his Ambassadorship to China. But he knows it's a long road ahead

"I am the underdog," he said. "We are working aggressively all the way to the finish line. It's all about getting out the vote, it's all about getting people to the polls, and I'm not going to rest until we cross the finish line."

But Mitt Romney, leading by double digits in every poll, isn't worried about Huntsman in New Hampshire. He's clearly running against the President, "This President that put in place more public debt than any other president combined, or he will a at the end of his final term - which will l be his only term, in my view," Romney said.

All this campaigning is happening in a state that takes pride in its role in picking a president. At Manchester's Red Arrow diner, there may be tight quarters, but there's no lack of rich political discussion. Candidates and celebrities from all persuasions go there and regular customers, even if undecided this time, are tuned in.

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"I think there's a strength in the Republican party this time that, we can make a difference," said undecided voter Adam Fithian.

Responsibility as the nation's first primary

New Hampshire has a special place in the American political system. It's been the nation's first primary since 1952 and has fought off efforts to be upstaged, moving up the date from March to January to keep it that way.

That fact matters because it means New Hampshire draws massive media coverage. Its voters can deliver a knockout victory for a frontrunner, and catapult a longshot into contention. It's a position voters here take very seriously.

New Hampshire is quintessential New England with a charming small town feel, but it bears a big political responsibility. At the typical campaign event, say at a coffee shop in Hampstead where Jon Huntsman is making a campaign stop, you'll find savvy veterans of the process like lifelong Granite-stater Wally Stickney.

"Be fun to look at the numbers and try to get a feel for how the independents have broken," Stickney said.

Ordinary residents like him have virtually endless chances to listen to, evaluate and judge the candidates. As a small state, they can really get a feel for what candidates are made of, according to New Hampshire political scientist Dante Scala.

"It's a state where you can actually get to know voters," Scala said.

Scala said that makes for a level playing field. Candidates once seen as longshots, like Ron Paul or Rick Santorum have the potential to break through, like John McCain and Hilary Clinton before them.

"It is a state that's made for underdogs because it is a state that tends to give candidates with a new sort of message a chance," said Scala, who works at the University of New Hampshire. "They may not get the nomination, but they'll get a hearing from New Hampshire voters."

Jon Huntsman aims for just such a game-changing moment. If he gets it, it will be in no small part because he spent months crisscrossing the state, meeting folks in person.

"If Huntsman has a good evening, it'll be kind of a vindication of time honored retail politicking methods in New Hampshire."

If Romney wins New Hampshire, he will be the first non-incumbent Republican to win both Iowa and New Hampshire since they became home to the first nominating races in the 70s.

Story written by John Daley and Richard Piatt

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