MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Republican front-runner George W. Bush was dubbed "Gov. Smirk" and derided for "his smug attitude" by New Hampshire's biggest newspaper Friday, four days before the 2000 campaign's first primary.

The blistering front-page editorial in the Manchester Union Leader, which has endorsed Bush's rival Steve Forbes for the Republican presidential nomination, was headed "Bush insults NH."

The newspaper, which called the Texas governor "an empty suit" last month, said it had become clear why Bush's "handlers" had kept his pre-primary appearances in New Hampshire "to a minimum."

"They were rightly concerned that his smug attitude and smart remarks would not do him any good," the editorial said. "Some people say that Gov. Smirk comes across that way on TV because he's really just nervous."

But the newspaper, long a major conservative voice in the state's politics, concluded that after Wednesday's televised debate among the five Republican contenders, "It is obvious that this is not nerves, it is nervy."

At a news conference in Portsmouth, Bush told reporters he did not think the editorial would affect his chances with conservatives in New Hampshire.

"The Union Leader has made its decision to support Steve Forbes and I disagree with their decision," he added.

The editorial referred to Bush as a "double-talking Texan" and accused him of harboring an "attitude of ill-disguised contempt" for even having to appear with his four rivals and answer their questions.

It said that attitude seemed to extend to the people of New Hampshire, recalling Bush had said he would only defend the state keeping its first-in-the-nation primary if he wins on Feb. 1.

Bush and his staff have said he was joking, but the Union Leader wrote that given "the poor track record" of his father, former President George Bush, and "other mushy moderates" in New Hampshire, "it is easy to believe he was dead serious."