MORE TUESDAY COVERAGE Candidates tweak message for New Hampshire terrain Candidates charge onto N.H. airwaves Bradley appeals to independent New Hampshire voters Republicans look for spirited contest in N.H. Abortion issue dogs McCain in New Hampshire Caucuses over, presidential candidates flee to New Hampshire Tax issue boosts Forbes coming into New Hampshire Snow keeps Keyes from campaigning in N.H. Ad accuses McCain of working to cover up live POW data

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, who limped out of Iowa's Monday night caucuses with a slim 1 percent of the vote, planned to drop out of the nominating contest on Wednesday, an aide said, leaving a five-man Republican field with Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes still in the race.

Bush, who won Iowa's contest -- the first voting of the campaign season -- with 41 percent of the vote called the outcome a "good beginning" for his front-running campaign.

"The people of Iowa heard my message and I believe the people of New Hampshire will as well," the Texas governor said at a Bedford stop. "It is going to be a spirited contest here."

Calling himself the "authentic conservative" in the race, Forbes sought to capitalize on his unexpectedly strong showing in Iowa with 30 percent of the vote for a second-place finish.

"The Republican establishment has met its match," Forbes said at a news conference in Nashua.

Forbes said he was not worried about his distant third-place standing in the New Hampshire polls because surveys in Iowa also showed him doing poorly there.

"I think we are going to have a dramatic three-way race in New Hampshire," Forbes said.

Bush rejected the notion that Forbes is a threat and said he would focus on beating McCain, who is leading Bush in New Hampshire polls after skipping Iowa to concentrate on the Granite State.

"Obviously, the race in New Hampshire is with John McCain," Bush told reporters.

Sen. McCain of Arizona called himself the most qualified GOP candidate for the White House.

"I am fully prepared to be president of the United States -- more prepared than any other candidate," he told reporters, without naming any names.

McCain, who has emphasized campaign finance reform, said Monday's Supreme Court decision "vindicated" his crusade to rid the nation of big money politics. By 6-3 vote, the justices reaffirmed states' power to impose limits on political campaign contributions.

"Not only vindicated, but this is what the whole campaign was about, is about," McCain said.

Abortion, a hot-button topic in Republican politics, helped Forbes win conservative votes in Iowa with his flat anti-abortion stance. Bush also faced questions three days in a row last week on the topic, and at one point said he supports the Republican anti-abortion platform -- although it doesn't allow for exceptions he backs in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother's life.

McCain, asked Tuesday whether he would favor changing the abortion ban in the GOP platform to allow such abortion exceptions, said, "I would support the change."

"That is the position of (Rep.) Henry Hyde, who is a leader of the pro-life movement," McCain told reporters in Sunapee, N.H., although he declined to say whether he would actively seek such a change.

Asked if he was worried about competition from Forbes, McCain said: "The more the merrier."

In Washington, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., dismissed Forbes' Iowa showing.

"This was his high water mark. He'll go down, hopefully fast," Lott predicted. "What is he, publisher of a magazine? Great ... Alan Keyes is more qualified to be president than he is."

Bush and McCain have argued about their rival tax plans, with the Texas governor looking for a new line of attack nearly every day. On Tuesday, Bush pointed to new government projections of a possible $1.9 trillion surplus over a decade, and said he would use half that for tax cuts.

"The difference between that and Senator McCain's plan is that 25 cents of the proverbial dollar goes to tax cuts under my plan, and five cents under his -- and therein lies one the debates of this campaign," Bush said.

McCain said Bush "can't win" with the tax debate because too many details confuse people.

"If you can't win on the big issues, then go into the details," McCain said dismissively.

A blizzard that dumped nearly a foot of snow clogged the campaign trail as GOP contenders struggled to pack campaign events into the one day between Iowa and their debate Wednesday night.

Barbara Fields, of Washington, N.H., advised the candidates to keep slogging through the snow.

"People here like to talk to them one on one, themselves, so in that way I think it's different than Iowa," Fields, 68, said after loading friends into her husband's truck for the 10-mile trip to see McCain at the American Legion hall in Hillsboro. "If we're here, they'd better be here."