FAMOUS FOR ITS “first in the nation” presidential primary, New Hampshire has traditionally been a conservative enclave compared with its more liberal neighbors of Vermont and especially Massachusetts. Its ail—American reputation is underscored by its inspiration for the settings for Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Grace Metalious's Peyton Place, John Knowles'sA Separate Peace, and the Archie comic's Riverdale High School. Its “Live Free or Die” motto and lack of broad—based taxes have attracted a variety of summer and permanent residents, from the bikers who converge on the Lakes Region for Bike Week to the libertarian Free State Initiative, which plans to have 20,000 members move to the state with the intent of influencing local politics in their favor. Since the Cold War, southern New Hampshire has ...