McCain tries to narrow Bush's lead in Michigan

NOVI, Mich. - A day before taking his presidential campaign to New Hampshire to commemorate Veterans Day, U.S. Sen. John McCain yesterday traveled across Michigan, a state with GOP leadership heavily lined up behind Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

The Arizona senator, a Republican presidential candidate who spent five-and-a-half years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, finished the day at a private state party fundraiser in Novi. Earlier in the day, McCain also attended a rally for charter schools in Grand Rapids, spoke at Lansing Community College and addressed the Grand Ledge Rotary Club.

"We're going to campaign here and campaign hard," he said. "Michigan now has become very important in the nomination process."

AP PHOTO U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) speaks at the Vista Charter Academy in Grand Rapids yesterday morning during a one-day campaign trip through Michigan. The Republican presidential hopeful also spoke in Lansing, Grand Ledge and Novi yesterday.

Michigan's primary is scheduled for Feb. 22, making it the first by a major industrial state. In New Hampshire, which on Jan. 24 will hold the nation's first primary, McCain has closed to within 8 percent of Bush in recent polls.

"We were very pleased at that traction in New Hampshire," said McCain, adding, "We have a long way to go."

With the Nov. 7, 2000, election still nearly a year away, the senator said he wishes the road to the White House were shorter, recalling years when candidates announced their presidential aspirations only a few months in advance.

"Now this thing is over on March 7," when 15 state caucuses and primaries are scheduled, he said. "It's a terrible thing. They've got to fix it."

McCain said his Michigan visit was not timed immediately to precede Bush's scheduled appearances in Macomb and

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