John McCain
Morse Sporting Goods, Hillsborough, N.H., Nov. 18, 2007

In her bright pink jacket, Dahlia immediately stands out as the only baby inside this crowded Central New Hampshire gun shop. Dahlia is extremely comfortable in Sen. McCain's arms and stares up at him with adoration. For two seconds. Following the same pattern as her meeting with Giuliani, Dahlia starts to cry. McCain is unfazed, however. "There goes another vote!" he jokes.

Grizzled AP photographer Jim Cole, who recently gained celebrity status for being harassed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Lake Winnipesaukee, later asks if Dahlia is the same baby he'd photographed in the pumpkin costume. I confirm his hunch and tell him my wife, Stacy, and I have timed her pregnancies to produce props for the New Hampshire primary. For a brief moment, I think he believes me.