By Kevin Anderson BBC News Online in Nevada, Iowa

Iowans expect the personal touch when it comes to campaigning

Voters in the United States won't cast their ballots for president until November 2004.

Voters here in Iowa won't even hold caucuses to choose their nominees for president until January 2004.

But already, Democratic presidential candidates are criss-crossing this state meeting with voters.

The Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary a week later kick off the nomination process for presidential candidates that culminates with the party conventions.

For some, losses here and in New Hampshire will bring an end to the presidential dreams, but for others, it will provide critical momentum to continue their campaigns.

Personal politics

President George W Bush is not expected to face a challenge from within his party for the Republican nomination.

Nine Democrats have already declared their candidacy for their party's nomination.

DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES Joseph Lieberman John Edwards John Kerry Howard Dean Richard Gephardt Reverend Al Sharpton Carol Moseley-Braun Dennis Kucinich Bob Graham

This weekend alone, five of the nine candidates will make appearances in Iowa.

The political process in Iowa is very personal.

Candidates here are expected to do more than simply fly into a town, shake a few hands, make a few canned remarks and then move on.

Iowans expect the candidates to meet them and come into their homes.

This weekend, Senator Joe Lieberman and his mother will be celebrating Mothers' Day at the home of a supporter.

"The irony about Iowa is that you don't have to spend millions," said Steffan Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University.

"But it's like pigs looking for truffles. It's a very labour intensive process," he added.

'Anybody but Bush'

Senator John Kerry came to Nevada, Iowa, to have his picture taken with local Democrats, to tell voters why he's running for president and to dance to big band swing music.

Many Iowa Democrats haven't made their choice yet. It's too early in the process.

One Democrat declared, "I'm for ABB: Anybody But Bush."

KEY DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES 2004 19 Jan: Iowa caucuses 27 Jan: New Hampshire 3 Feb: South Carolina 3 Feb: Arizona 7 Feb: Michigan 10 Feb: Virginia 2 March: California

But they know what issues are important to them, and Senator Kerry outlined the Democratic agenda he hopes will win not only the party's nomination but also the White House.

Attacking the president's record on the economy, Senator Kerry said: "If there is one person in America who deserves a pink slip and deserves to be laid off, it's George W Bush."

Democrats are again pushing the issue of healthcare, and Senator Kerry said that "healthcare is not a privilege but a right".

And he attacked the president's foreign policy. "Even as powerful as we are, we need friends on this planet."

Domestic weakness

VaLinda Parsons came out to hear Senator Kerry, who has her support for the nomination.

"He believes as I do that you don't have to be pro-war to be patriotic," she said.

President Bush is already charting a strategy to make national security and the war on terror one of the big issues of his campaign for re-election.

But Mrs Parsons believes that "as time goes on, public opinion will see that the war in Iraq was not necessary, that it could be settled with non-violent means."

President Bush is suffering from the same political weakness as his father, she said. He may win the war but lose the election, she added.

The economy is weakening in Iowa, and "if you can't put food on the table, you're not so worried about international issues", she said.

Jim Hutter took a break from dancing to the swing music to talk about the issues that concerned him.

"Tax cuts are foolish, absolutely ridiculous. The environment, education, pretty much anything that Bush is for, Democrats are against," he said.