General Wesley Clark learned what's on the minds of pre-school children at the Wonder Years Learning Center in Salem, New Hampshire: paper dolls named Flat Stanley.

"He was on the floor with the kids in less than ten seconds after walking in the door," said Mike LaRosa, owner of Wonder Years. "He didn't rush it. He stayed until the kids were done coloring and took pictures with the whole group and their Flat Stanleys."

Flat Stanley is a character in a children's book by Jeff Brown. A boy named Stanley is accidentally flattened when a bulletin board falls on him. He wants to visit friends but a plane or train is too expensive. Since he's flat, his parents mail him, and he writes home about his adventures.

The popularity of the book has inspired thousands of children to create their own paper Flat Stanleys and mail them around the world. Wherever the Flat Stanleys go, the receiver takes photos with the paper doll and mails both back to the original child.

The four-year-old artists at the learning center presented Clark with a Flat Stanley to take on the campaign trail with him. He promised to take photos and send them back to the children.

"He told the kids he would be sure not to stand in front of any bulletin boards," said one campaign staffer.

"He is a genuine person," said owner LaRosa. "The kids didn't know who he was, that he's running for president. They just know that someone showed genuine interest in them."

He listened to many of the teachers at the center express concern about education and other issues. Clark shared his view that we can't leave our children with a legacy of debt that jeopardizes their future.

"I was impressed," said LaRosa, whose father is a retired colonel from the Army Reserves. "Politicians seem to be phony. There was no phoniness about him. He's the whole package."