Manchester – Walking in the North End of the city yesterday morning, 84-year-old Adrian Van Kalken came face-to-face with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Not long after, Amanda Scarpaci, 27, and her husband, Jacob, 29, had a similar encounter.

Van Kalken said he liked Romney's pro-life stance. The Scarpacies pressed the candidate on education issues. All three North End residents found the former Massachusetts governor personable.

Just another pre-election-year Saturday in New Hampshire -- this one with two months remaining before residents go to the polls for the first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

On the second of a two-day swing through the Granite State, Romney started yesterday meeting with about 50 supporters and 25 reporters at his Manchester headquarters, where he urged members of his campaign to go out into the city and other communities to knock on doors and tell residents, "I can get the job done."

"We have a lot of guys running for president, but very few of them have actually done anything," he added, to much applause.

Mitt Romney talks with 84-year-old Adrian Van Kalken during a campaign swing through Manchester yesterday. (BOB LAPREE)

Jeff and Debbi Rapson were the first residents to respond when Romney went door to door on Chestnut Street. Both said they were impressed by Romney's real-life experiences as a governor, as a businessman and as head of the Salt Lake City Olympics.

"He says, 'This is what I've done,' not 'This is what I'm going to do when I get to Washington,'" Debbi Rapson said. "The only other guy is Bill Richardson who says 'This is what I've done.' All this rhetoric just drives me insane."

The Rapsons, who are independents, knew Romney would be knocking on their door and had muffins ready for the candidate, his supporters and the media. Standing in front of a collection of reporters and photographers as the Rapsons opened their front door, Romney told the couple they had just won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.

Turning serious, Jeff Rapson told Romney he was angry with President Bush for squandering an opportunity to strengthen world-wide support for the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"(Bush is) so damn stubborn," Jeff Rapson said. "He's been a huge disappointment."

Romney said that as governor he brought Republicans and Democrats together on key issues in Massachusetts, and that he intends to do the same in Washington.

"I hope you do," Mr. Rapson said.

After Romney left, Debbi Rapson said the candidate's visit encouraged the couple to go back and look at his record and the issues he's emphasizing in his campaign.

Among the issues Romney yesterday noted as being important to New Hampshire voters are high gasoline and heating fuel prices, and the need to develop a better energy policy that is less reliant on foreign oil.

Van Kalken is a registered Republican, but said he is more of an independent.

"I like Mr. Romney, but I also like Mr. (Rudy) Giuliani," Van Kalken said. "I'm pro-life but (Giuliani) isn't, but Mr. Romney is, and that's a big issue for me."

He said Romney appears to be an honest man, and he likes his proposal of no taxes for retired people who earn less than $50,000 a year.

The Scarpacis are newcomers to New Hampshire, having moved to Manchester about a year ago from Watertown, Mass., where they lived for five years.

Saying education is paramount with her, Amanda Scarpaci was critical of teaching methods that emphasize test preparation over developing creativity.

Romney told her, "If you don't test kids so you know how they are doing, you can have some school districts that are really failing," adding that Massachusetts have done very well since statewide testing began in the early 1990s.

Speaking to supporters earlier in the day, Romney said the heart of the No Child Left Behind Act was testing. "I like that, but the tests have to be under state control," he said.

He also proposed merit pay for top teachers. "I want the best teachers to get raises," Romney said.

After the candidate moved on, Amanda Scarpaci said she was pleasantly surprised to meet up with Romney in a residential neighborhood. Still undecided, she said she'll vote for a candidate who appears genuine and whose views seem most in line with her own.

Jacob Scarpaci, who previously heard Barack Obama speak in the parking lot where he works, said he enjoys meeting the candidates. "But right now there are too many people in the field. I want to wait and see what happens," he said.

While other candidates -- Republicans Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Ron Paul; Democrat Dennis Kucinich -- worked the state yesterday, Romney touted his campaign's work in the Granite State, and promised, "We're not taking our foot off the accelerator now."