Instead, the governor focused his remarks on President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, the likely Democratic nominee. I will make sure when American parents and their children look at the White House they will see not an embarrassment, but an example of which they can be proud. Conquering South Carolina, where Bush led by 20 points or more last month, proved more difficult than anticipated for the Texas governor and confirmed McCain's status as a serious challenger. This was a state Bush was supposed to win easily. New Hampshire, which McCain won by an astounding 19 percentage points, was tailor-made for an insurgent like the Arizona senator who relies heavily on voters outside the Republican mainstream.
Republicans are more conservative here, less likely to rock the boat and tough on insurgents.
McCain's victory in New Hampshire tossed conventional wisdom aside and changed the dynamics. While the Arizona senator continued to court Republicans as well as Democrats and independents, who could vote in the GOP primary, Bush was forced to change strategies. The Texas governor's aides concluded he had let McCain become the reform candidate even though Bush reformed education, juvenile justice and civil court laws in his state. After appearing insulated and aloof in New Hampshire, Bush copied McCain's practice of holding town meetings and answering questions from voters in South Carolina. He also went on the attack.