Sen. John McCain's New Hampshire campaign could be told as the story of buses. First, there was the top-of-the-line bus, too fancy for McCain's doughnut-and-buffalo wing taste, a sign of needless extravagance. Then, there was the "No Surrender" bus, shabby and fitted with a slogan that smacked of desperation. Finally, came the "Straight Talk Express" that drove McCain to victory this week.

The mirrors in the back rattled, the transmission blew during a three-day tour, and the plumbing froze in subzero temperatures last week. But the 1980s-era bus, fitted with pleather seats and purple sconces, clocked its miles in New Hampshire, delivering McCain to most of his 101 town hall meetings.

In a Republican primary race with an unusual number of ups and downs, McCain's campaign may have been the most turbulent of all. McCain, who entered the race as the presumptive national front-runner, then became a near asterisk as political misfortunes compounded campaign mismanagement, emerged Tuesday as the winner of the New Hampshire primary, edging out the well-financed campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who had led the polls here for more than six months.

His rise from the ashes was a tale of determination and luck. McCain and his staff returned to what they knew best, the town-hall-by-town-hall, question-by-question approach that had won over New Hampshire voters in 2000, and their strategy slowly began to pay dividends. But McCain also benefited from the changing fortunes of his competitors and shifting political realities.

High hopes

When McCain assembled his campaign team last year, he drew heavily on Republican establishment figures who had helped re-elect President Bush in 2004. That team built a national campaign strategy for McCain, filling campaign offices across the country and budgeting for a $100 million fundraising year. Members of McCain's New Hampshire leadership team, many of whom helped him the last time, said they were shocked by the excesses of the first few months, and the disconnect between the national leadership and the foot soldiers here, McCain's home territory.

Peter Spaulding, McCain's New Hampshire chairman, said that he and his colleagues would complain during conference calls with the national leadership that McCain needed to spend more time in the state and that the campaign should invest in more lawn signs and fewer chartered planes. As he described it, the leadership would "give the hicks from New Hampshire their due and let them phone in," but they never took their concerns seriously.

Between Jan. 1 and June 4, McCain spent only four days in the state, according to Mike Dennehy, a top national adviser. Instead, he was campaigning across the country and spending more than 60 percent of his time in fundraising events. The campaign spent at a rate of nearly $2 million a month, on a large staff, planes, buses and fancy light and sound systems for McCain's campaign events.

Meanwhile, forces in Washington were working against the outspoken senator. McCain, a former navy pilot and prisoner of war, had called loudly and repeatedly for more troops in Iraq, an unpopular stance as U.S. troop casualties escalated. He was also the co-sponsor of a Senate immigration-reform proposal that included a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, a plan that angered many Republicans. The fundraising climate for all Republicans was anemic compared with 2004. And McCain's historic fights against powerful special interest groups in Washington made it difficult for him to seek money from many industries that might have otherwise been his natural constituents.

In early July, the campaign announced that it was near bankruptcy, and laid off more than half of its staff, closing several regional offices. Most top aides resigned, and McCain took to flying commercial and carrying his own bags.

Mostly, he was flying to New Hampshire. In a meeting at C.R. Sparks restaurant in Bedford, McCain's old New Hampshire team told him that he needed to spend more time in the state, and McCain agreed.

"If you want to win New Hampshire, give us the time, be on the ground, and do what you do best," said Chuck Douglas, a campaign vice chairman. "And he listened."

Back to town meetings

McCain, relegated to underdog status, returned to the insurgent campaign style that had won him New Hampshire eight years ago, clocking 101 town hall-style meetings, taking dozens of questions from voters and making the rounds at the state's newspaper editorial boards, ultimately securing more than 25 endorsements. As Douglas put it, they were "running on fumes," leaning on their volunteer staff and economizing whenever possible.

"As difficult as it was, it was ironically a comfort zone for us, because that's when John McCain is at his strongest," Dennehy said. "His entire life has been built around defeating expectations."

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