McCain congratulates Huckabee on Iowa win, not going negative

Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., greets supporters before he made a statement to reporters regarding Republican presidential hopeful former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Iowa caucus returns in Manchester, N.H., Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Sen. John McCain congratulated rival Mike Huckabee on winning Iowa's presidential caucuses Thursday and said it shows that negative campaigns -- such as opponent Mitt Romney's -- are doomed to fail.

Romney spent the final few weeks before Iowa cast the first votes of the 2008 presidential election engaged in an aggressive contest with Huckabee, a Baptist pastor turned politician. Huckabee resisted the temptation to respond in kind, instead relying on his wit and humor. McCain said civility is one of the lessons to take from Iowa's results.

"One, you can't buy an election in Iowa," said McCain, whose own financial woes have affected his campaign. "And two, negative campaigns don't work. They don't work there and they don't work here in New Hampshire."

McCain, however, resisted efforts to call Romney's loss a McCain win when reporters pressed him on what it would mean for his own fortunes in the next contest, the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.

"I consider it to be Gov. Huckabee's victory," said McCain, R-Ariz. "I think he earned it. I think he worked hard."

McCain, citing his financials and no television advertising, said "we were predicted to finish very badly" in Iowa. But Romney's stumble there opens a chance from McCain to build momentum here and own a lead he has started to build in recent months.

McCain later spoke by video to supporters in Iowa by Internet video.

"A few weeks ago, they had us really not doing very well at all. I am very pleased with the way we were able to move forward with this campaign," McCain told supporters in Iowa.

"My friends, this has given us a great springboard to a victory here in the state of New Hampshire."

McCain said he beat expectations.

"With virtually no money, on a shoe string and 95 percent volunteers, I think we've done a wonderful job. I'm very, very proud of you. I want you all to get in a car right now and drive here to New Hampshire, where the temperature is even colder than it is in Iowa. Get up here and get with us for the last few days because we're going to have a victory here in New Hampshire next Tuesday night."

McCain and Huckabee have enjoyed a detente in recent weeks, generally refusing to engage each other. Instead, they found themselves fighting with Mitt Romney, who came in second in Iowa. McCain and Huckabee spoke by phone about 9:30 p.m., an aide said.

McCain, who didn't spend as much time in Iowa, looked to a fourth place finish in the first test of campaign strength. Unlike his rivals, he didn't spend the entire day in Iowa, instead flying back to New Hampshire where he had town hall-style meetings and met with supporters -- a sign from his campaign that their effort was supposed to start here.

McCain's style might give him an edge here, where he won the 2000 primary by 19 percentage points over then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

He said he knew how to campaign in New Hampshire, something rival Rudy Giuliani has struggled with.

"I know how town hall meetings work. I know enthusiasm when I see it," McCain said to cheers from supporters standing behind him.

Earlier Thursday, he engaged in a spirited exchange with a voter who challenged him to explain what he hopes the U.S. military will accomplish in Iraq and when he would bring the troops home.

"I do not believe one U.S. soldier being killed every day is success," said Dave Tiffany, who described himself as a full-time anti-war activist. He demanded to know from McCain "how long you want us to be there."

The two went back and forth several times, with McCain insisting that what matters most is ending American casualties, not their presence in Iraq. He said he would be fine with keeping troops in Iraq for decades as long as they weren't being harmed, similar to the arrangements that exist in South Korea, Japan and other countries.

"A thousand years. A million years. Ten million years," McCain said. "It depends on the arrangement we have with the Iraqi government."

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Associated Press Writer Holly Ramer contributed to this report from Derry, N.H.