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Romney, McCain focus firepower on New Hampshire
By Caren Bohan and Scott Malone
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney, facing an unexpected battle against Sen. John McCain in his own backyard of New Hampshire, headed straight to the ski slopes of that state this week instead of flocking to Iowa with the other presidential contenders.
Romney greeted skiers and snowboarders as they sipped hot chocolate in the lodge of Pat's Peak ski resort in Henniker and reminisced about family times at that slope. Then he stepped in front of the cameras to attack his rival.
"I'm happy to talk about times when I've been wrong," he said. "But I don't recall Sen. McCain saying he was wrong to say that all illegal aliens should be able to stay here permanently or that he was wrong to vote against the Bush tax cuts. I think he was, on both counts."
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The former governor of neighboring Massachusetts once held a commanding lead in New Hampshire, but Romney is now virtually tied with McCain for first in the race to be the party's nominee in the November 2008 presidential election.
McCain responded by labeling the comment a "desperate, flailing" attack by Romney. The Arizona senator, who won New Hampshire in 2000, arrives on Friday for a six-day tour, a day after Romney's trip.
The surge by McCain, whose campaign was seen as all-but-dead by pundits last summer, comes as Romney's front-runner status in Iowa has been overtaken by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Next Thursday, Iowa kicks off the state-by-state battle to choose Democratic and Republican candidates.
Romney, who would be the first Mormon president, has been viewed as a favorite for the Republican nomination because of his large campaign war chest and edge in the early states.
With Huckabee now rising in Iowa, Romney is focusing on New Hampshire's January 8 primary contest as his best opportunity to win an early-voting state, said Thomas Whalen, a Boston University political scientist.
"New Hampshire is his home turf, he has a strong organization, and the hope is that he will come here and show that he is a viable Republican candidate," Whalen said. "If he does lose in New Hampshire, the ballgame is over for him."
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is aiming his campaign strategy around big states like Florida and New York that hold their primaries later, is polling a distant third in New Hampshire.
ROMNEY'S "TWO-FRONT WAR"
Though Romney has cast himself as a social conservative who opposes abortion and pushes a hard line on immigration, he has struggled in Iowa for the support of evangelical conservatives, a core Republican constituency in the state. Some of those voters are wary of Romney's Mormon faith and are gravitating toward Huckabee, a Baptist minister.
"It's a two-front war," said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. "We have a unique set of challenges in Iowa and the main competitor is Mike Huckabee and we have a unique set of challengers here and the main competitor is John McCain."
Against McCain, a main focus will be to highlight Romney's lengthy resume in the business world and paint the Arizona senator as a "career politician," Fehrnstrom said.
Romney, who owns a home in New Hampshire, has different problems here than in Iowa.
Romney's religion is not an issue to New Hampshire's more secular voters but he has been accused of being a flip-flopper for changing views on issues like abortion and has received scathing criticism by some major newspapers in the state.
Labeled a "phony" by the Concord Monitor, Romney was also criticized as lacking integrity by the conservative Union-Leader newspaper. Both newspapers endorsed McCain.
"Over the long term, Romney may have more to fear from John McCain" than from Huckabee, said Stephen Wayne, professor of government at Georgetown University. "McCain is a better-known candidate has been tested nationally. We know his weaknesses."
While analysts say going on the attack in a primary election is always risky, Romney may have few other choices.
He has put particular emphasis on his criticism of McCain's support for a bill backed by President George W. Bush that would have given illegal aliens a path to legalized status.
Such criticisms resonate with voters like sales engineer John Murphy, who is a Vietnam veteran like McCain and is torn between the two Republican candidates.
As he waited to greet Romney at a country store in Hooksett on Wednesday, Murphy, 63, said he was leaning toward the former governor.
"Being a veteran, McCain is a hero of mine," Murphy said. "But I don't like his views on immigration."
(Editing by Jackie Frank)
