So I headed for friendly turf, back to the motel.

Dave and his friends were on friendlier turf this day: their first stop was the McDonald's in Times Square.

He kept a red-and-white Buchanan cap in his pocket, until he realized this was friendly turf and he could display it freely.

But they say they are playing on friendly turf in a presidential year, given that President Bush carried all three states in 2000 by wide margins.

Even on such friendly turf, Mr. Giuliani has skeptics.

More bad news came yesterday when a poll in Connecticut, thought by Mr. Gore's people to be friendly turf, showed Mr. Bradley leading the Vice President by 51 to 34 percent.

But now that Mr. Corzine has announced, and his free-spending consultants can inundate the radio and television with the slogan "unbought and unbossed," Mr. Corzine is playing on friendlier turf.

As he traversed friendly Republican turf, from the Florida Panhandle to Texas, Mr. Dole continued to insist that he would win the election.

Mr. Mahe said New Hampshire would be friendlier turf than Iowa for Mr. Forbes because the religious right is not as strong and New Hampshire voters are very independent.

Mr. Edwards is banking on victories in Tennessee and Virginia heading into contests on Feb. 17 in the Midwest, including Wisconsin, which the campaign sees as friendly turf.