The sound of techno-pop music greeted McCain and his wife Cindy as they stepped off his "Straight Talk Express" campaign bus, courtesy of the swarm of college students waiting for the winner of the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary.

Inside an airplane hangar, they ascended the stage like rock stars beneath strobes and swirls of purple-and-green light.

"We should have all of our rallies at three in the morning," McCain said. "We just came down, as you know, from making history in New Hampshire tonight,"

The senator from Arizona, here for several days of campaigning in advance of the state's GOP primary Feb. 19, wasn't about to risk stalling his insurgent campaign, which surprised even him with his decisive win over Gov. George W. Bush.

"Keep the flag up!" someone shouted above the din.

McCain, who has refused to wade into the debate over whether the Confederate battle flag should continue flying above the Statehouse, only smiled.

He wasn't the only candidate to continue celebrating after midnight.

About 200 cheering fans, including actor Billy Baldwin, greeted Vice President Al Gore's predawn arrival aboard Air Force Two at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Whether from the icy wind or sheer adrenaline, Gore, who defeated former Sen. Bill Bradley in New Hampshire's Democratic presidential primary, hopped up and down, looking much like a boxer in the ring as he shook hands.

"We've just begun to fight!" he shouted into a bullhorn before a limousine whisked him to a Manhattan hotel for an abbreviated night's sleep.

He was to be up at dawn for a round of appearances on morning TV shows.