McCain's win nets windfall on Web

By Jim Drinkard, USA TODAY ©

Until Tuesday, Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign had raised $1.5 million in eight months through its Web site. But after he won big in the New Hampshire primary, an additional $415,000 poured in literally overnight. By Thursday morning, the figure had reached $681,000.

"Fundraising is the closest thing we have in politics to an impulse buy," said a gleeful campaign spokesman, Todd Harris.

Sen. John McCain pulled in more than $600,000 via the Net after his New Hampshire primary win Tuesday (AP).

While McCain was enjoying the tailwind from his New Hampshire victory, the bruised GOP frontrunner, George W. Bush, was vowing a fresh start in South Carolina, site of a primary Feb. 19. "It's a different world down here," he said.

The Texas governor wasted no time. He pledged at a news conference in Greenville to "do a better job of defending myself," a reference to McCain's portrayal of him as less prepared for the presidency. "This is a man who holds hearings," Bush said of the Arizona senator, who is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Bush then picked up the endorsement of former vice president Dan Quayle, who dropped out of the race in September.

Despite McCain's fundraising bump on the Internet, Bush retains a huge financial advantage. The $415,000 that McCain collected in the 24 hours after Tuesday's first-place finish doesn't begin to equalize the money scales. Bush started the year with $31 million in the bank, compared with McCain's $1.5 million.

McCain hopes the Internet windfall is just the leading edge of a financial deluge that would re-float his campaign for the crucial five weeks to come, when 20 states hold primaries -- including expensive media markets such as California and New York. He has begun a blistering round of telephone fundraising and has scheduled $1,000-a-ticket events in the nation's biggest political money centers: New York City, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. He also will hold a $100-a-ticket online event next week.

Visitors to the McCain Web site Wednesday saw a new pop-up window inviting them to contribute or volunteer. The campaign said 4,500 people had joined the interactive political team since Tuesday's results were announced. McCain won 49% of the vote to Bush's 30%.

Bush, who has a 20-point lead over McCain among South Carolina Republicans, appeared confident and combative. He emphasized his own conservatism when he spoke to more than 5,000 people at Bob Jones University in Greenville.

The audience at the conservative Christian college, which forbids interracial dating, was the largest of Bush's campaign. Bush was asked whether he agreed with that policy, and he said, "No."

He altered his standard campaign speech to emphasize the scandals of the Clinton administration and his commitment to rebuilding the military.

"After November, we'll either have the equivalent of a third Clinton administration or we'll have a new era in politics," Bush said. "I believe this nation is ready for a fresh start after a season of cynicism."

Former South Carolina governor David Beasley introduced Bush with a reference to the state's role as a firewall for Republicans who stumble in the nation's first primary.

"South Carolina again is going to correct what New Hampshire has done," Beasley said.

Tuesday's other victor, Vice President Gore, spent part of the day in Washington, but he also hit the road to begin collecting endorsements. One stop was Columbus, Ohio, where he got the backing of the city's mayor, Michael Coleman, and 50 county party chairmen from across the state.

The campaign also jabbed back at rival Bill Bradley for his comment Tuesday night that his campaign remains "smarter and better prepared" than the Gore operation. Responded Gore spokesman Chris Lehane: "They've been brilliant: masterminding a strategy that has managed to lose the first two races."

Bradley, who called his New Hampshire showing "a remarkable turnaround" from polls which had predicted that he would lose by a larger margin than he did, started his day with a rally at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. He was introduced by his wife, a fired-up Ernestine Schlant Bradley, who exclaimed to the enthusiastic college crowd, "Bill is done with his warm-ups, and now it's real time. And I think it's going to be a great time."

Contributing: Judy Keen, Kathy Kiely, Richard Benedetto and Martin Kasindorf

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