At the lunch, Hagelin sits with five friends and confidants who have been with him since the genesis of the Natural Law Party. Some act as if they have never seen a reporter before. When one woman makes an innocuous comment about her vegetarianism, another one, worried the comment could be misconstrued, steps in like an older sister to shush her up. The Hagelin crew is downright giddy, watching intently as their friend John is interviewed by phone by the Los Angeles Times, as they each pull at the straws of their fruit drinks in front of them.

Hagelin would much rather talk, of course, about his similarities with the Reform Party than his eccentric past. Mentions of yogic flying or transcendental meditation, both parts of the Maharishi's teachings, cause a minor break in Hagelin's Zen-like expression. He's careful not to get defensive, but clearly uneasy about the possibility of another cookie-cutter story about John Hagelin, political freak show.

"I was attracted to the opportunity to allow time and encourage students to develop the brain physiology through meditation," he says of his decision to leave Stanford for Fairfield. His voice is a sing-songy, breathy voice, almost like a whisper. "It was a terrific educational experiment." Hagelin quickly defends the school's credentials, mentioning its federal grant support and its national accreditation. "It's a really high-quality institution. But its uniqueness is that it bears the name of Maharishi because he was definitely the inspiration to have a university emphasizing excellence in traditional academics coupled with innovative methods like meditation to help boost IQ."

He understands that Maharishi U. will continue to mark him as he begins his campaign in earnest. But he does cling to hope that he can ultimately transcend that label.

"You should have seen the focus in 1992. Then, meditation was so novel. By now, meditation has gone mainstream, 50 million Americans claim to practice it, tens of thousands of doctors prescribe it, the National Institute of Health pours millions and millions of dollars into researching it," he says.

Hagelin says that while his connection to the university, now called the Maharishi University of Management, "is not something I want to duck, I think it gets overemphasized and taken out of context for the sake of capturing a reader's attention."

"But you take your lumps, and you're grateful for the coverage," Hagelin says. "But eventually, you get to tell your own story." In the meantime, the Hagelin campaign's unofficial mantra to off-point questions is the slightly reactive phrase, "That is not what this campaign is about."

Hagelin talks about campaign finance reform, preventive healthcare and cutting taxes. But he also uses flowery phrases, talking about "holistic solutions" and "developing human consciousness" in a way that may go over well in San Francisco or Vermont, but still set off warning bells for most voters. But he is convinced that once voters take a look at what he stands for, they will be supportive.

"The founding principles of the Natural Law Party are fundamentally still the same: restoration of ethical principles to government," he says. "The idea of sustainable solutions, solutions that are in harmony with natural law. Harnessing natural law for soil fertility, preventative medicine, harnessing the natural healing mechanisms that uphold human health, harnessing the laws of nature."

"As a physicist I've dedicated my life to the study of natural law," he says. "I'd like to bring more of that, harnessing the laws of nature in the form of sustainable solutions in government."

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