Candidates Stumble Over Campaign Don'ts

SEABROOK, N.H. -- Thou shalt not wear a shirt and tie at a lobster shack near a New Hampshire beach. Thou shalt not invoke upscale grocery stores while campaigning in farm-rich Iowa. And thou shalt not call South Carolina's Lowcountry "the lowlands."

For every must-do, must-see tradition or place in the critical states that kick off voting for the presidential nominations, there is an equally important list of must-avoid steps. Some candidates, however, apparently didn't get the memo about what's incongruous or sometimes annoying to voters in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani made a trip this summer to a tourist-filled lobster shack in Seabrook, N.H. In sweltering heat, the Republican rolled up in his black SUV wearing a bold red tie and crisp white shirt.

As guests with flip-flops on their feet cracked lobster bodies with their bare hands, Giuliani got a laugh by rolling up his sleeves, grabbing a live lobster from a tank and holding it aloft.

"How about the lobster?" he asked, never loosening his tie. "Everybody has the lobster."

Fellow Republican Mitt Romney went through the same hazing ritual, tie tight and lobster in hand. Laughter _ including from wife Ann _ followed.

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama tried talking business with farmers in Adel, Iowa, in August to demonstrate empathy and win votes. But then he referred to a high-end organic food chain that has no stores in Iowa.

"Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula?" said Obama, who lives in Chicago. "I mean, they're charging a lot of money for this stuff."

And in South Carolina _ where the H is silent in Horry Country _ the names matter. Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who mastered most of the names during her husband's campaigns, goofed by calling the state's coastal area "the lowlands" rather than the preferred "Lowcountry."

To be sure, campaigning in the early voting states is an art. Voters want to see would-be-presidents at their neighborhood store, serving up ice cream as Romney did in Kingston, N.H., awkwardly tossing a bright green T-shirt over his dress shirt and tie.

"Oh gosh, I'm not as strong as these girls," Romney said, sliding behind the counter for a photo opportunity. "Just have me do some soft serve."

Such campaign stops are meticulously choreographed, with crowds assembled, stickers in hand and pledge cards ready.