We have nothing to do with that.'' Just weeks ago, Mr. McCain and Mr. Bush campaigned in New Hampshire with the solicitous and mutually respectful air of two Sunday school teachers. But after the South Carolina contest spiraled into negativity, the two seem at times to be fighting a back-alley brawl. The exchange of charges appears to have benefited Mr. Bush more than Mr. McCain. South Carolina voters, exposed to pointed ad campaigns by both sides, tended to see Mr. Bush as admirably feisty and Mr. McCain as harsh and negative. Everybody's against me, Governor Engler, Governor Bush, all the governors, all the senators.
Every day is do or die.
The makeup of Michigan is far different from that of South Carolina or, for that matter, Iowa and New Hampshire, all of them states with largely rural populations and where nearly all Republican voters are white. Michigan has a big urban population and is more ethnically diverse. The McCain camp hoped that a big turnout from Democrats and independents, who are allowed in Michigan to vote in the Republican primary, could make a greater difference than it had in South Carolina, where Mr. Bush rode a huge mobilization of core Republican voters to victory.