By David M. Shribman, Globe Staff, 2/2/2000

ANCHESTER, N.H. - This is the morning after - the morning after a classic New Hampshire primary, the morning after insurrectionary voters gave new life to insurgent candidates - and suddenly the political world looks new again.

NEW HAMPSHIRE RESULTS Republican 98% of precincts reporting McCain 49% Bush 31% Forbes 13% Keyes 6% Bauer 1% Democrats 98% of precincts reporting Gore 52% Bradley 47% Percentages will not necessarily add to 100. FROM THE GLOBE Democrats fight to a close finish Independents turn GOP contest Contrarians speak up, leaders get wake up call Arizona senator has found strength in his weaknesses Independent voters say character was key to decision Why they voted the way they did Result no setback for Bush backer Cellucci Primary shows off NBC synergy Independents seen taking up the insurgents' fight Bauer, Keyes unbowed as they vow to soldier on Forbes hopes to make it a three-way race Bush campaign says it's ready to move on In Granite State diner, a final helping of politics First primary settled, campaigns mull new tactics On campaign trail, it's a frantic pace Vow of tenacity keeps Bradley's spirits high, focus keen For vice president's campaign, no letup in asking for votes NECN VIDEO Forbes praises McCain win, asks for more support Keyes will stay in race, despite big N.H. loss Gore wins the Democratic N.H. primary over Bradley Bradley greets voters at polls Will Bradley triumph? Turnout heavy in Granite State Can McCain pull off a victory? Gore makes a last minute effort These video clips are viewed using RealPlayer. Get RealPlayer | Help EARLIER COVERAGE Gore wins close race among Democrats McCain savors big win over Bush in GOP race True to tradition, N.H. tests front-runners McCain impressed voters as straight shooter GOP voters happier with candidates than in '96 Independents say character was key to vote Granite State voters have their say N.H. Secretary of State again predicts high turnout Keys to reading the New Hampshire returns Bradley, McCain win Dixville Notch, Hart's Location

The front-runners might not be. The inevitable isn't.

At least for now.

Once again the fabled contrarians of this state - the old men of the mountains and the new entrepreneurs of the high-tech southern suburbs - delivered a blow to deference in both parties. They rattled the party leaders' choices, defeating Governor George W. Bush of Texas and granting only a modest victory to Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee, even as they renewed the candidacies of two party rebels, Senator John McCain of Arizona and former senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey.

While Bradley, loser in a close race, survives to fight again, McCain leaves the Granite State with a remarkable victory, one that - by virtue of the message, the margin, and the man - ranks as one of the most striking political achievements in the history of the New Hampshire primary. But for both insurgents, the fight, until yesterday conducted so efficiently in the compact precincts squeezed between the Atlantic seacoast and the Quebec border, now moves to terrain that favors the familiar and undermines the position of the underdog.

Meanwhile, two debates, begun in scores of town meetings and community gatherings all over this state, now are poised to go national. The first is a debate over whether the Democratic Party, once the solace of the poor and the striving, should take up the causes of its corporate campaign contributors - and present itself as more the agent of the center than of reform. The second is a debate about just how much the Republican Party, long the party that resisted rebellion in American public life, should assail the very establishment that nurtured, supported, and financed it.

Along the way, the newly reconfigured presidential election almost certainly will give American voters new choices not only about the direction of the country and the parties but also about the nature of the liberal and conservative movements.

After a frenzied campaign in a state that, for an extraordinary seven-day period was transformed into a snowy political village, the most formidable figure in presidential politics was upended like a top-heavy ice sculpture. And in delivering a decisive victory to McCain, Republican and independent voters here also delivered a formidable rebuke to Bush, until yesterday - and until New Hampshire - widely regarded as the inevitable GOP nominee and the best bet to win the first presidential election of the new century.

At the same time, Gore's determined march to the Democratic nomination was disrupted by the strong showing by Bradley, who has raised uncomfortable questions about the Clinton-Gore administration's coziness with big contributors and about the political system's dependence on, and deference to, big money.

Just as they did to former vice president Walter F. Mondale in 1984 and Senator Robert J. Dole in 1996, the voters of New Hampshire put a dent in the armor of the front-runners. Even so, Bush and Gore - with endorsements, national organizations, and the support of the party infrastructure - still hold the strongest cards in the presidential poker game.

But the performance of the two candidates in New Hampshire revealed important weaknesses for both of them.

In his campaigning in the weeks leading to yesterday's primary, Bush showed a tentativeness that was disquieting even to his closest advisers, and a lack of mastery that was unsettling even to his supporters. He failed to reassure voters that he possessed the reach and vision of his principal rival, and he was unable to counter the powerful message delivered by McCain, who vowed to break ''the Washington iron triangle of big money, lobbyists, and legislation.''

Populist messages like McCain's have often played well in this state, even in GOP primaries. But unlike Patrick J. Buchanan, the conservative commentator who upset Dole in 1996, McCain is an established political figure, a proven vote-getter and conventional conservative. For those reasons, his triumph over Bush last night was far more significant than Buchanan's victory four years ago. It was a message to America, to be sure, but mostly a message to Bush.

Similarly, the spirited but losing performance by Bradley, who lacks the institutional muscle of Gore, revealed weaknesses in Gore's campaign and in the vice president's political persona. In his battle back against Bradley, who held the lead here for months, Gore showed grit. In his attacks on Bradley, Gore showed desperation. Indeed, he undermined his own position more than Bradley's, making him vulnerable to charges that he skimmed the truth in a frantic battle for advantage.

Gore wasn't alone, however; in the final days, Bradley walked the same path, attacking Gore and opening to doubt his claim to be a different sort of Democrat.

And so stubborn old New Hampshire has delivered its verdict, startling the strong, sustaining the weak. The appeal process begins this morning.