McCain seeks victory in South Carolina, site of 2000 fall

CHARLESTON, S.C. — John McCain's first presidential bid cratered in South Carolina after a nasty campaign and never recovered.

Back for a second shot, it's not so much vengeance he seeks, but victory.

"Eight years is a long, long time in politics," the Arizona senator said Wednesday, reveling in another New Hampshire triumph while arguing why he could succeed in South Carolina where he once failed.

Times have changed, he says, and so has the state itself. It's also a different nomination fight than it was back then — wide-open, fractured and lacking a front-runner with the weight of the establishment behind him.

At least one thing, however, hasn't changed — and that could spell trouble for McCain.

Christian evangelicals, many of whom have never warmed to the senator, still hold much sway in the ultraconservative Upstate region; their favored candidate — Baptist preacher turned Arkansas politician Mike Huckabee — is angling for a win. Immigration also could pose a problem for McCain, who backs providing millions of illegal immigrants an eventual path to citizenship.

Republicans in this state hold their primary Jan. 19; Michigan goes before it, on Tuesday.

In 2000, McCain cruised into South Carolina fresh from a stunning New Hampshire win over establishment favorite George W. Bush only to go down in bitter defeat in the first-in-the-South primary. On TV, Bush allies vastly outspent the GOP underdog. Underground, McCain was assailed in negative telephone calls and a whisper campaign that spread rumors about him and his family.

This year, his backers have set up what they're calling a "truth squad" to counter negative campaigning in a state known for brass-knuckles politics. Said McCain: "I'm not sure the people of South Carolina would stand for it again."

Next week, he will head into the thick of the South Carolina race having racked up at least one, maybe two wins; his aides see Huckabee as McCain's greatest threat now that Mitt Romney is weakened from two major losses and has pulled his advertising in South Carolina to focus more on must-win Michigan.

Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee senator, is struggling to mount a comeback in South Carolina, while Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, isn't much of a factor.