AMPTON, N.H. - Seven months after George W. Bush limped out of New Hampshire nursing the wounds from his primary defeat, the Texas governor returned for a stroll down memory lane.
There was a rally at the airplane hangar where he had a Super Bowl Party, a campaign speech along the Seacoast, and a reunion with his bus driver John LaBombard, who ferried the Texan across the state in the midwinter darkness and chill.
Not only had the snow melted and his political consultant, Tom Rath, shed 19 pounds, but the Republican presidential contender said he felt he had a good chance of winning the state in this fall's general election. He also repeated his assessment that his 18-point loss to Arizona Senator John S. McCain in the primary had made him a better candidate.
''I don't think my message was defeated; I think John McCain won,'' Bush said in an interview Tuesday evening. Moments earlier, the governor looked down on his flight from Portland, Maine, while the jet crossed the coast directly over the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport.
''I think it helped in New Hampshire to have had a tough race because, I think, the people got to see me handle the pressure of defeat. ... Some of politics is the ability for the voter to get a feel for the candidate, what they're like in good times and not-so-good times, how they handle pressure,'' Bush added. All the while, he fidgeted with a laminated, wallet-sized copy of the electoral map.
Addressing issues of concern to Bostonians, Bush said he had ''no idea'' whether he would participate in the Oct. 3 presidential commission debate proposed for Boston. He said he would not skip it solely because Massachusetts is a Democratic stronghold and his face-off with Vice President Al Gore would be held at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, just across Columbia Point from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.
''I'd rather have it at the Bush library,'' he joked, referring to the Houston facility honoring his father, former President Bush, ''but nevertheless, I understand.''
Bush also said he did not take offense at Gore's criticism of the quality of life in Texas, a tactic that recalls how his father attacked Michael S. Dukakis during the 1988 presidential election. The elder Bush repeatedly questioned the ''Massachusetts Miracle,'' the state's inmate furlough program, and the cleanliness of Boston Harbor.
''I expect it. What the heck, I understand the give-and-take of politics. I understand you can take a set of numbers and make 'em sing or make 'em dance either way,'' the governor said. ''I think it offends some of my fellow Texans, particularly the Democrats that helped me get the initiatives through.''
In a conversation yesterday, Bush also said he talked about ''Catholic issues'' with former Boston mayor Raymond L. Flynn while in New Hampshire. The conversation took place Tuesday night during a GOP fund-raiser in Rye, N.H. Bush said he was unsure whether Flynn, a Democrat who served President Clinton as Vatican ambassador, would endorse his candidacy.
''You'll have to ask him that,'' the governor said. ''I was honored he asked to meet with me.'' Campaign aides described it as part of their outreach efforts. Flynn did not return two calls placed to his home.
As much as the 151/2-hour visit to New Hampshire late Tuesday and yesterday morning was a political venture, it was also a journey back in time for the governor and his entourage.
''I've never seen this place without snow,'' cracked one network cameraman as Bush's chartered Boeing 727 settled onto the runway at the Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth.
When the plane rolled to a stop, the welcoming party was much the same it had been each time Bush arrived from Iowa or some other early-voting state: state campaign chairmen Robert Thomson and Barbara Russell, and Rath and his fellow Republican National Committee member, Ruth Griffin. US Senator Judd Gregg, Bush's guide in New Hampshire, flew in with the governor.
''It's so nice to see you without overcoats,'' Rath said to Bush communications director Karen Hughes, who greeted him with a hug.
Like the governor, Rath discounted Bush's loss in February, and cited recent polls showing him leading Gore in the state.
''New Hampshire is at a different point in the process than a lot of places, and it was sending a message out in terms of, `You need to work hard to get at this thing,' that they didn't want it over quite that early,'' he said.
Yesterday, Bush visited Winnacunnet High School in Hampton to deliver an education speech. He unveiled a $6.7 billion plan to make college more affordable, principally through an expansion in the number and size of Pell Grants for tuition.
While at the school, he was reunited with LaBombard, a 56-year-old from Enfield who had driven Bush across New Hampshire in his $300,000 custom motorcoach.
The bus is outfitted with three TVs, a Jenn-Air stove, cherry paneling, and a high-capacity heater. LaBomard recalled how Bush would frequently wear a jacket because of the thinness of the Texan's blood.
''I'm very glad New Hampshire was a steppingstone for him,'' LaBombard said. ''It was a wakeup call, and he's done well since. I'm 100 percent confident he'll make it all the way.''
Andrea Hadfield, the senior-class president at Winnacunnet, inadvertently offered the same assessment as she introduced Bush. Hadfield said it was her honor to introduce ''President Bush.''
Before she could correct herself, the hoots and cheers of her classmates drowned her out. Bush smiled as he took the stage, thanking Hadfield as ''Madame President.''
Then he quipped, ''I like the way that sounds.''
