The Trail Less Traveled

MANCHESTER, N.H. — When Mitt Romney stumbled in Iowa on Thursday night, John McCain was already at the next stop in New Hampshire and lost no time in kicking a chief opponent when he was down with this state’s crucial primary just five days away.

Without ever directly naming the former Massachusetts governor, but leaving little doubt of whom he was speaking, McCain told reporters, television audiences and New Hampshire campaign workers that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won in Iowa for two reasons.

“I think that the lesson of this election in Iowa is that, one, you can’t buy an election in Iowa; and, two, that negative campaigns don’t work,” he said. “They don’t work there, and they don’t work here in New Hampshire. They’re not going to work.” Appearing intent on damning Romney by giving faint praise for Huckabee, he said, the former Arkansas governor ran “a very good, strong, positive campaign.”

McCain’s choice of target reflects his much-improved position heading into the New Hampshire primary, although that improvement has made him competitive again with Romney and not a clear frontrunner.

After many observers had left his campaign for dead last year, McCain has rebounded by overtaking Romney in recent New Hampshire polling. But he is also battling Barack Obama for the votes of political independents, who can choose a Republican or Democratic ballot in the Granite State.

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, shares many of McCain’s views on the war in Iraq and has endorsed McCain, joined him on the campaign trail.

But McCain was clearly being careful to avoid the kind of direct attack on Romney that could alienate voters who do not affiliate with a party and push them into the Democratic primary. McCain’s lead is thin enough that he can take nothing for granted.

Romney’s second-place finish Thursday night was clearly taken as a good sign by McCain’s aides, who celebrated with Budweiser and Bud Light in the campaign headquarters before it was clear whether McCain would finish third or fourth in Iowa. (McCain’s wife, Cindy, is chairwoman of a Budweiser distribution company).

Romney portrayed himself as a medalist who is in position to win the “gold” in the overall presidential race.

“You win the silver in one event, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to come back and win the gold in the final event, and that we’re going to do,” Romney said in Iowa. Though the second-place finish was a clear blow to his campaign, he noted that he finished ahead of McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson .

At his press conference here, McCain said that Huckabee “ran a largely positive campaign that should be a lesson to all of us here.”

But he predicted he would come out on top in New Hampshire.

“I’m very confident of victory,” he said.