Nearly eight years later, the man who won the GOP New Hampshire primary in 2000 tries for a repeat. But like the old saying goes, you never step in the same river twice, which is the point of this David Lightman story in the Hartford Courant.
Here’s how the story begins:
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By DAVID LIGHTMAN
Washington Bureau Chief
June 9 2007
GILFORD, N.H. — Seeing John McCain again was like the prospect of seeing an old flame.
You walk up to the door. You hesitate, nervous, the question simmering below the surface: After all these years, would there still be a spark?
It was there eight years ago, that’s for sure, when the electricity helped make the Arizona Republican the winner in a stunning upset of George W. Bush in the 2000 New Hampshire primary.
McCain would eventually lose the nomination, but he left behind an army of passionate fans, largely independents and even Democrats who liked his real-guy, no-nonsense style.
Now he’s back, aiming for the prize he’s wanted for so long. But the man who showed up for a town hall meeting at the Gilford Fire and Rescue house recently was eight years older, and far more politically scarred.
And so, as she waited outside on a chilly June morning, Phyllis Hamblet was concerned. “His age could work against him,” said Hamblet, echoing a sentiment heard throughout the nation’s first primary state. McCain is 70. Hamblet’s friend, Phyllis Corrigan, added diplomatically, “It’s early in the process to make up my mind.”
Ah, but they cling to the memories.