Comeback Complete: McCain Wins New Hampshire

In 2000 it legitimatized his campaign. In 2008 it rescued it. No wonder John McCain loves New Hampshire. For the second time in eight years he has won the nation's first Primary and with it the mantle of front runner to the republican Nomination.

"I hate to use to the word kid, but I think we showed the people of this country what a real comeback looks like," the seventy one year old candidate told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. The former Naval aviator, war hero and four-term senator went from presumed front-runner a year ago to seemingly on the brink of elimination last summer after his campaign all but imploded as key personnel left the campaign, fund raising dried up and pundits spoke in tones generally reserved for funerals. But the Straight Talk Express rolled on. The Arizona senator rode a wave of support from independent voters to defeat former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Iowa Caucasus winner Mike Huckabee. It was a bitter blow for Romney. The former Governor of neighboring Massachusetts ran his campaign like a “favorite son candidate” Tentative results show McCain winning 39 percent of the vote, Romney 28 and Huckabee 12. Rounding out the field, Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani had 9 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul 8. And now McCain rolls on. "I'm grateful to the people of New Hampshire. I'm committed to keeping this country safe, and we're going to move on to Michigan and South Carolina and win the nomination,"