Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman, who was in the region to stump for several state candidates Sunday, continued her own national drive to bring the GOP back to its traditional roots and to improve the tenor of all political discussion.

She said working together with Democrats is not necessarily a bad thing.

Whitman, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush for two years, was in the neighborhood on Sunday accompanied by state Senate President Ted Gatsas.

With some missed connections that caused delays in her appearances, Whitman stumped for District 4 Senate candidate Jim Fitzgerald, then went to Meredith and pressed the flesh at Hart's Turkey Farm on behalf of longtime state Senate incumbent Carl Johnson.

In both instances, things did not go as planned.

Whitman had been scheduled to rendezvous with Fitzgerald, a state representatives from Laconia , and Rep. Mike Whalley, R-Alton, at the parking lot of the old McGrath's Food Center at 12:45 p.m. She was late, prompting Whalley and Fitzgerald to go driving around Alton looking for her and Gatsas, who eventually showed up about half an hour later.

The assembled entourage then hit the streets of Alton , speaking to several people and visiting businesses before pointing the caravan north up Route 11 to Meredith for what was supposed to be a 2 p.m. get-together with Johnson.

The problem there, as one Whitman staffer told his boss, was that Johnson waited as long as he could before leaving.

Nonetheless, Whitman and Gatsas, minus Fitzgerald but joined by U.S. Congressman Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, soldiered on in good humor, greeting visitors at the entrance to the popular Hart's restaurant and at one point going inside its crowded vestibule before heading back outside.

In between, Whitman spoke about the decline in civility in American politics and how her own party has strayed from what it had been when she joined it.

Disappointed by how the Party of Lincoln was proceeding, Whitman in 2005 created " It's My Party Too " which, according to its website at www.mypartytoo.com, advocates "for the historic Republican principles of liberty, individual responsibility, and personal freedom."

IMP was founded on the premise that its members are "True Conservative Republicans" who believe that "our elected officials have a responsibility to their constituents to spend their money wisely. We believe that government should have a limited role in Americans' personal lives. And we believe in a strong national defense."

The IMP's political action committee, IMP-PAC, is "dedicated to supporting fiscally conservative, socially inclusive Republican candidates at all levels of government."

The organization believes that "people who believe in the core Republican values can find common ground on social issues," which was exactly the message Whitman was preaching on Sunday in the Lakes Region.

The GOP has "always been a broad-based party," said Whitman in Meredith, and despite present appearances, it is not "a mean-spirited, hard litmus test party" that has little tolerance for dissent.

"You can agree to disagree without being disagreeable," the governor said, adding that Bradley, in just his two terms in Congress, could testify to the fact that the decorum in the House is not what it was when he first entered it.

In traveling around the U.S. promoting the IMP agenda, Whitman said she frequently hears from Republicans that "this isn't my party any more" and that, while the person may not be able to bring him- or herself to vote for a Democrat, it is more difficult voting for a GOP candidate and the person may therefore not vote at all.

Asked to handicap Republican prospects in the Nov. 7 elections, Whitman replied that, "two weeks ago, I would have said we were in good shape, but the last 10 days have changed things a bit" and the GOP's "public persona" has shown some unattractive features.

Republicans around the country have been on the defensive since the sudden resignation on Sept. 29 of Republican Congressman Mark Foley of Florida who allegedly sent sexually-explicit e-mails to teenage pages.

The possibility that top House GOP leaders knew about Foley's behavior as far back as three years ago has led to much finger-pointing within the Republican Party and a further erosion of its standing in the eyes of voters.

Whitman, who has family members in New Hampshire and has visited here on a number of occasions, said the Granite State is "beautiful" but comes with a problem for her: Someone always wants to know whether she will run for president.

"Can't you come to the state without people asking you that?" Whitman complained in mock annoyance.

Asked directly whether she has plans to seek the nation's highest office, Whitman gave a definitive "no," although she added that she has learned over the course of her political career that "you never say 'never' because no one believes you."

Bradley, who is being challenged by Carol Shea-Porter, the chair of the Rochester Democratic Committee, for the First District congressinoal seat, said he was happy to have Whitman here on Sunday just as he was happy to have former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in New Hampshire last week.

The presence of both Whitman and Giuliani, who is rumored to be a presidential candidate in 2008, "generates a little excitement for campaigns," he said, and also directs voter attention to the issues at hand.

"Gov. Whitman is a highly respected member of the Republican Party," said Bradley.

Until she introduced herself to them, Whitman was a heretofore unknown to Scott Barker and Jo Corbett in Alton .

Barker, who lives in Rochester , was helping to get the Main Street Cafe ready for its grand opening on Oct. 20. The cafe shares the parking lot with McGrath's and once Whitman showed up there on Sunday afternoon, the first person she and Fitzgerald talked to was Barker, who invited Fitzgerald to come back for the Main Street 's special occasion.

"I was kind of wondering" who Whitman and Fitzgerald were, said Barker, although in looking upon Fitzgerald's campaign literature, he realized that the two men are both military veterans.

He did know who Jeb Bradley was, Barker added, and, "if this guy [Fitzgerald] is on his team, then, yeah, if Jeb Bradley endorses him," he would too, even though Barker cannot vote in the Senate District 4 election.

Up the street at Cranberries, the home furnishings store owned by Corbett, Whitman bought a wooden-spoon candleholder while showering affection upon Corbett's corgi, Millie.

Corbett recalled that she and Whitman talked about the governor's appreciation for country-style items and how she missed her own pet dog.

While she knew who Fitzgerald was, Corbett did not recognize Whitman, but "it was a pleasure to meet her."