MANCHESTER, N.H., Feb. 1  John McCains big New Hampshire primary victory over George W. Bush establishes the Arizona senator as a credible challenger for the Republican presidential nomination and will force immediate changes in Bushs campaign tactics, GOP strategists said tonight.

-- Vern (bacon17@ibm.net), February 02, 2000

Answers

Exit polls: Why McCain and Gore?

WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain impressed New Hampshire voters - both independents and registered Republicans - as a straight shooter who says what he believes, exit polls indicated Tuesday.

On the Democratic side, Al Gore gained strong support from registered Democrats, voters whose financial situation has improved in the last four years and those who thought issues were more important than personal qualities, enough to give him a narrow final advantage over Bill Bradley.

In taking about half the votes in the five-man Republican race, McCain not only led 3-1 among independents, but also led among registered Republicans, who had been seen as a source of strength for George W. Bush before the primary.

Charles Baron, a 51-year-old Manchester accountant, spoke the sentiment of many New Hampshire residents when he described McCain's appeal.

''I have the sense that he's telling the truth,'' said Baron, who often votes Democratic. ''I just think he'll do what we need done.''

When questioned which candidate, McCain or Bush, was most likely to say what he believes rather than what people want to hear, half picked McCain and about one in six picked Bush. And the candidate quality picked the most often, by more than a third, was standing up for one's beliefs, followed by strong and decisive leadership, picked by a fifth.

More voters in the Republican primary, about a fourth, chose moral values as being more important than any other issue. Taxes came second, followed by world affairs and the combination of Social Security and Medicare, which were tied for third. McCain's push to reform campaign finances evidently struck a chord, however.

Four out of five voters said campaign finance reform could help the country, and registered Republicans who felt that way voted for McCain by a 2-1 margin, according to Voter News Service exit polls.

In the hard-fought Democratic race, Bradley drew strength from independents, those who viewed President Clinton unfavorably and voters who thought personal qualities were more important than issues.

Thomas Tessier, a 61-year-old lawyer from Manchester, said he backed Gore because ''he's part of a good team and I see no reason to change it.'' But Joe Gelbard, 51-year-old Democrat of Sanbornton, said he had a sense of Bradley as ''an authentic kind of person. Character has to come first.''

In other findings:

REPUBLICANS:

McCain prevailed among a broad range of voters in the GOP primary, winning among those who picked every issue except taxes, a group that favored Steve Forbes. And McCain was the top vote-getter among voters who valued most candidate qualities.

There were two exceptions in that regard: Voters looking for someone ''who best represents conservative values'' went with Alan Keyes while the relatively small group that cited ''most likely to win in November'' picked Bush.

Almost nine of 10 voters in the Republican primary said they were satisfied with their choice of candidates, far more than expressed satisfaction four years ago, according to the exit polls. In the 1996 New Hampshire GOP primary, four out of 10 voters said they wanted another choice in the race in which Pat Buchanan beat Bob Dole, the eventual nominee.

The entire voter sample was split on whether McCain or Bush would have the best chance to win the presidency in November. That blunted one of the Bush campaign's biggest selling points, his presumed chances in the general election.

Martha Rohan, a 54-year-old Republican from Nashua, said she voted for McCain after making up her mind a few days ago. ''I don't think Bush has enough experience nationally,'' she said.

DEMOCRATS:

Education and health care were the two issues cited most often in deciding the Democratic vote - each chosen by about one-fifth of the voters. Bradley won among those who chose health care as the top issue, and Gore won among those who chose education. Voters split on who had the best health care plan.

Gore led among those who had a union member in their household, while Bradley led among those who made up their mind in the last few days.

More than four of five voters in the Democratic primary said they were satisfied with the candidates. Voters in the Democratic primary were also upbeat about the economy, with about two-thirds saying their financial situation was better than four years ago.

The exit polls were conducted by Voter News Service, a consortium of The Associated Press, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC. VNS surveyed 2,240 voters in the GOP primary and 1,711 voters in the Democratic primary as they came out of precincts Tuesday. The poll had an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points for the overall Democratic sample and 2.5 percentage points for Republicans, larger for subgroups of each.

-- Vern (bacon17@ibm.net), February 02, 2000.

Give it a rest, Vern

-- (-@-.-), February 02, 2000.

yes, please give this non-y2k subject a rest.

I am here for y2k stuff - the thoughts of having a tempermental person that dislikes families of MIA/KIA/POW's and spearheaded the normalization of relations with a nation that still keeps POW's really makes Clinton look good.

-- dislikes (traitors@nvietnam.com), February 02, 2000.

South Carolina is a state chock full of Vets. Vets tend to vote Vet.

Sure would be funny if Bush and his record setting 68.7 million dollar campaign chest ended up losing. Ha!

Now then if the choice is McCain-POW, Gore-Reporter never saw action (although more honorable than sitting in a frat house), or Jesse the body Ventura-Navy Seal was he in Vietnam?

Who do you vote for if you are a Veteran?

McCain has been divorced. Gore and Tipper are "the base for the movie Love Story" and Jesse has a room in a whore house named for him.

McCains family has fought in every war since the revoulutionary. Gore's family has been in Public service for Generations.

And Jesse"s family-well we don't know much cause he's from "Parts unknown".

I'm Glad its election time.

-- Johnny (jljtm@bellsouth.net), February 02, 2000.

Dubya is going to get the nomination though.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), February 02, 2000.

George Weenie Bush is a silver-spooned Mama's boy, smug, spoiled, swaggert, doofy, dumb, and hardly fit to be a governor. He won't win.

Americans are not quite that dumb and ugly.

-- who to choose (who@who.who), February 02, 2000.

Americans are not that dumb???

Just how do you explain the present state of affairs?

gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), February 02, 2000.

Who:

If the nation will vote for a repetitive under-oath liar who was fined for giving misleading testimony under oath during a sexual harassment trial, then anything is possible.

-- haha (haha@haha.com), February 02, 2000.

gene and haha
Tell me Klintoon could not be re-elected again today! Americans have become more savvy and sophisticated lately. Haven't they?

At least the Internet has sharpened their insulting vocabulary.

Today Clinton said:
"It would be tragic if this instrument [the Internet] that has done more to break down barriers between people than anything in all human history built a new wall because not everybody had access to it."

Do you think using the Internet has made Americans smarter or dumber?

-- who to choose (who@who.who), February 02, 2000.