It's for Governor Merrill and the citizen legislature and the town councils of New Hampshire to decide.

Governor Merrill, in a news conference one year from Election Day, cited Senator Dole's military record and devotion to public life as reasons for the endorsement.

By most accounts, including Governor Merrill's, even voters in primary-obsessed New Hampshire are not paying much attention to the campaign this early.

Governor Merrill emphasized that during the next few days, Mr. Dole would "deliver a positive message, and he's going to stay on it."

In a commercial the campaign began broadcasting today, Governor Merrill warns: "Steve Forbes's income tax plan increases the deficit and raises our taxes."

Governor Merrill therefore had to speak in his first inaugural address about new ways to meet an anticipated $40 million shortfall in state revenues.

One of the things he learned today was that Governor Merrill was not ready to endorse any Presidential contender.

Governor Merrill said he expected to have some association with a law firm in New Hampshire and maintain contact with public life in Washington.

Governor Merrill said that he had successfully run for office twice on a platform that opposes an income tax for education.

It is not just Governor Merrill who gets the attention.