REENVILLE, S.C. - Introduced to a hushed crowd as a man who ''deeply loves the Lord,'' Governor George W. Bush emerged from his crushing New Hampshire primary defeat with a sharpened tone and a fine-tuned message yesterday, playing his conservative credentials to the hilt in a state that could determine the outcome of the Republican race.
Six times in a single minute Bush used the word ''conservative'' in a speech at Bob Jones University, one of the best-known fundamentalist Christian venues in the state. He welcomed the endorsement of former vice president Dan Quayle.
Throughout the day, Bush tried to turn defeat to his advantage, suggesting that McCain had won as a result of ''liberal'' positions and his appearance as an insurgent.
''He made a good job of making himself look like an outsider. I need to make clear that he's the Washington insider, he's the committee chairman,'' Bush said.
But if Bush made his point in a mild way, some of his allies in South Carolina had no such inhibitions.
''John McCain is a Clintonesque Washington politician, who tailors his views to the audience he is addressing,'' said the state's former Republican governor, David Beasley, one of Bush's top supporters.
''If the crowd is from the left, he plays to the left. If it's from the right, he plays to the right. We're not going to let him get away with the deceptive messsage he used in New Hampshire,'' Beasley said.
The Bush campaign also began airing new negative advertisements that challenged McCain's sincerity - a sharp departure from Bush's strategy in New Hampshire.
In one ad that began running yesterday on South Carolina television stations, the Bush campaign accused McCain of supporting, along with President Clinton, a bill that would have dramatically increased taxes on tobacco products.
But the hard edge to the ad was most evident in two unflattering pictures of McCain side-by-side, with the announcer's voice declaring, ''Saying one thing and doing another - that's the real John McCain.''
Both candidates spent the day campaigning in South Carolina, where Bush has held a steady lead in the polls for weeks. But after a wide victory margin Tuesday night that surprised even his campaign, McCain began using the rhetoric of a front-runner for the first time. He even adopted a favorite phrase of the Bush campaign: Electability.
McCain also sought to turn Bush's sudden emphasis on conservative issues against him. Arguing that only a moderate could beat the Democratic nominee in November, the Arizona senator said, ''My message to Republican leaders is that we can win.
''Electability is all about getting the support of the center, of the political center,'' McCain told reporters. ''I am a proud conservative Republican who will maintain my base. But with this message of reform, we will attract to my banner people from all over the political spectrum, not because they agree with my conservative views, but because they're fed up with the special interests ruling Washington.''
After contests in just two states, it was increasingly apparent yesterday that the GOP race has evolved into a two-man affair.
Publisher Steve Forbes took a day off after placing third in New Hampshire, with 11 percent. Gary Bauer spent the day pondering whether to stay in the race. Alan Keyes was campaigning in South Carolina but has hardly registered in polls here.
McCain, delirious with excitement from his blowout, flew out of New Hampshire Tuesday night and arrived in time for a 3 a.m. rally complete with disco lights and hundreds of college students. But Bush did not leave New Hampshire until yesterday morning, arriving in South Carolina just before noon.
It was there Bush gave a first glimpse of the new image he hopes will buoy his candidacy in coming weeks: conservative, religious, in line with the tradition and the establishment. With his wife nearby, Bush stood behind an imposing podium in the Founders' Memorial Amphitorium at Bob Jones Univerity and addressed more than 6,000 students who were required, under school regulations, to attend.
He spoke of a ''greater purpose'' for his campaign, and, adding new rhetoric to a stump speech that has hardly changed in more than a month, described the international threats facing the country. He also used new phrasing to compare his moral fiber with that of the Clinton administration.
''There are some things I won't do. I won't run our armed forces ragged with no thought for tomorrow, driving our military like a rental car,'' Bush said. ''With this current administration, it seems like they think a strong defense is something they expect from their lawyers.''
McCain, meanwhile, got off to a quick start addressing one of his campaign's gravest needs: money.
Before yesterday, his campaign had less than $2 million. Yesterday alone, aides said they received more than $415,000 in donations through the candidate's Web site. Usually, the site collects about $10,000 a day via the site, said campaign manager Rick Davis.
The campaign has a great deal of ground to make up. Bush, who received some $68 million in campaign funds last year, has enough money to fuel his much-touted ''50-state strategy.''
McCain didn't seem bothered by that yesterday, however. ''My response is, now he is running a 49-state strategy,'' he said.
Walter V. Robinson of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
