By Tina Cassidy, Globe Staff, 1/25/2000

EBANON, N.H. - ''We're a campaign about message,'' Senator John McCain said as his bus was hurtling toward the next campaign stop here. ''Iowa is about organization.''

IOWA CAUCUS RESULTS Republican 97% of precincts reporting Bush 41% Forbes 30% Keyes 14% Bauer 9% McCain 5% Hatch 1% Democrats 98% of precincts reporting Gore 63% Bradley 35% Percentages will not necessarily add to 100. MORE COVERAGE FROM THE GLOBE Bush, Gore wrap up Iowa The votes tell the contentment Lesson of Iowa: Counterattack quickly Candidates have one goal remaining: closing the deal Tight-three way race in New Hampshire envisioned Gore plays it cool and girds for battle Hatch to announce he's quitting race Small-town USA sees big time turnout at polls On the road in N.H., McCain dismisses Iowa Sharing quarters, but ever so briefly EARLIER NEWS Gore, Bush easy winners of Iowa caucuses Voters say Bush best choice on moral values, can win in November Democrats: Iowa picks fighter Gore over Bradley's fresh start Republicans: Bush aims to use caucus victory to set up showdown with McCain Fiery Keyes gets strong caucus support Down-home politics shape Iowa Iowa's only the first step in picking nominee With a final flury, candidates focus on turnout Former president waits nervously as son competes in Iowa caucuses After Iowa: On to New Hampshire ABOUT THE CAUCUSES How Iowa caucuses work Why they are important ABOUT IOWA Population: 2.85 million. Registered voters: 1.8 million -- 36 percent unaffiliated, 32 percent Republican, 31 percent Democrat. Percentage of voters attending GOP caucuses in 1996: 17 percent. Race: 97 percent white. 2 percent black. 1 percent Asian. 2 percent Hispanic origin. Median age: 36.3. Median household income: $33,877. Poverty rate: 9.4 percent. Unemployment rate: 2.7 percent. Abortions: 9.8 per 1,000 women in 1995, compared with the national average of 22.9 per 1,000. 1996 vote: 50 percent Clinton; 40 percent Dole; 9 percent Perot. Average life span: 77 years, compared with the U.S. average of 75. Housing: Just over 72 percent of Iowans own their own homes, national average 66.3 percent. Crime rate: 3,816 victims per 100,000 people in 1997, vs. national average of 4,923. Tax burden: On a per-person basis, Iowa paid $4,530 in federal taxes in 1997 and got back $4,661 in federal spending.

So yesterday, when the rest of the presidential candidates were watching the Iowa caucus returns, McCain was expounding on this latest theme - that he is the most prepared man for the job - in an effort to win New Hampshire's Feb. 1 primary.

At every stop, the former Vietnam prisoner of war highlighted the importance of a president having military and foreign policy experience.

The message is clearly targeted at Republican front-runner George W. Bush, who served in the Texas Air National Guard after college but never saw combat.

McCain has also launched a 30-second commercial, titled ''Commander,'' which does not mention by name the Texas governor. But the point of the TV spot attempts to undercut Bush, who last fall failed a reporter's quiz on the names of foreign leaders.

''There's only one man running for president who knows the military and understands the world. John McCain,'' the ad states. ''As a Navy pilot and POW, he's seen the horrors of war. As a senator, he's already one of the nation's leaders in knowing how to keep the peace.''

On the stump, McCain said he would never take a poll to determine foreign policy, a line that earned him applause during a town meeting at the Plymouth Armory.

McCain spent the day holding three town meetings, including his 100th in this state: a photo-opportunity his campaign staff swore was a coincidence falling on the same day as the Iowa caucuses, which he chose to skip.

He also addressed a government class at Moultonborough Academy and finished his schedule with a ''celebration'' of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary, a polite way for the maverick senator to thumb his nose at Iowa, a state where he has campaigned only twice, both times attending debates.

While Bush spent millions there, McCain joked that he spent about $1,500 in Iowa, ''including steak dinners and airfare.''

Yet, McCain's overall strategy of focusing on New Hampshire so far is paying off, as he leads in the polls in New Hampshire against Bush. He even waved around a newspaper column proclaiming the move a stroke of ''genius.''

''It's not so much a test for us, but a test for Bush,'' McCain's campaign manager, Mike Murphy, said of coming primaries. If Bush ''loses New Hampshire and South Carolina,'' a state where McCain is gaining steam, ''I don't think he'll be the party nominee.''

Asked if Bush would get a boost out of his caucus wins, Murphy predicted that ''the Iowa hubbub will be gone by Thursday.''

However, it appears the intense politicking before the Feb. 1 primary in the Granite State is taking its toll on the McCain campaign.

Sunday night, for the first time, McCain's aides asked the press to leave the Straight Talk Express bus to give the candidate time to rest. And McCain's wife, Cindy, was taken to the emergency room to be treated for a migraine.

But McCain is soldiering on.

With the exception of blaring music - including the song ''Johnny B. Goode'' - at the start and close of his 100th town meeting, the day was like most others McCain has spent in New Hampshire over the past year.

The crowds are bigger and the bus more crowded, though there are few new questions at town hall meetings and virtually no new answers.