For McCain, a Second Try at the White House

In McCain's speech, he vowed to confront such issues as poor veterans care, rising fuel costs, the failing Social Security system and government waste.

"That's not good enough for America," McCain said in a line that he repeated six times during the speech. "And when I'm president, it won't be good enough for me."

On the Iraq war, McCain avoided both embracing the president's troop-increase policy and the harsh attacks on Democrats that have been prominent in many of his recent stump speeches.

Instead, he pledged to "rethink and rebuild" the military for a broader struggle against extremism and terrorism.

"America should never undertake a war unless we are prepared to do everything necessary to succeed," he said. "We did not meet this responsibility initially. And we must never repeat that mistake again."

McCain has been battered by his association with the war. On Wednesday, a handful of antiwar protesters gathered at the entrance to the park, before McCain appeared, holding signs that said "Stop the War. Bring the Troops Home Now" and "John McCain. War is no Joke."

But as he seeks his party's nomination, McCain's problems go deeper than the Iraq war. Despite efforts to mend fences after a bitter clash with conservatives during his 2000 bid for the White House, McCain is still eyed with suspicion by some of the party's most ideological members.

In a state where independents can vote in the GOP primary and were a key factor in his defeat of Bush in 2000, Wednesday's rally provided little red meat for conservatives. McCain stressed ideas over ideology and echoed the "common-sense" conservatism Bush promised in 2000.

"When I'm president, I'll offer common-sense, conservative and comprehensive solutions to these challenges," he said, standing before the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard across the river in Kittery, Maine. "I'll work with anyone who is serious and sincere about solving these problems. I expect us to argue over principle, but when a compromise consistent with our principles is within reach, I expect us to seize it."

McCain also offered a thinly veiled slap at Giuliani, saying Americans ''won't accept that firemen and policemen are unable to communicate with each other in an emergency because they don't have the same radio frequency'' -- a criticism that first-responder unions have leveled at the former mayor.

McCain, 70, would be the oldest president to enter the office. But he confronted concerns about his age: "I'm not the youngest candidate. But I am the most experienced."

"He has learned the art of compromise and reaching out to people he disagrees with," said Peter Rice, 65, a retired restaurateur in Portsmouth and a longtime McCain supporter. "But has he given up what he stands for or his principles? Not for one damn minute."

Rice said he remains confident that McCain will win the Republican nomination and then the White House.

"Hey, we are going forward now," Rice, a former Marine, said. "We can't afford any more screw-ups. We're going to get out of bed in the morning. We're going to put on our boots. We're going to put one foot in front of the other and we're going to get this job done -- at least in New Hampshire."

McCain campaign manager Terry Nelson called the announcement "not only a message for Republicans but a message for all Americans that we have to come together, that we have a lot of big problems to solve and we've got to come together as a country to solve those problems. He obviously wants to bring a conservative approach to solving those problems. The voters in this country want to see serious leadership by the leaders they elect, and that's what he wants to provide."