Both campaigns running at full steam; Gore, Bradley release fresh TV ads - Texas Gov. George W. Bush expressed confidence Friday that he would win South Carolina's Republican presidential primary while Sen. John McCain declared that a victory for him would show that the Republican "establishment can't stop us." Buoyed by polls showing him ahead, Bush said he was "very optimistic about what's going to happen (Saturday). I feel great about my chances." In Charleston, McCain told a thunderous rally at the College of Charleston that a South Carolina victory for him would mean he would end up the eventual Republican nominee. "My friends, if we win tomorrow, we will win - there's no way we can be stopped," he declared. "We are starting a revolution." McCain asked non-Republican voters for their support: "I say to independents, Democrats, libertarians, vegetarians - come on over, vote for me tomorrow." South Carolina once looked like a sure win for Bush until McCain won an upset victory in the Feb. 1 New Hampshire primary, a loss that translated into a gradual erosion of Bush's poll strength in South Carolina. After an intense week of campaigning and $3.1 million in television and radio ads from the Bush campaign, four polls of South Carolina voters show the Texas governor with a lead ranging from 2 percentage points to 12. A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll taken Wednesday and Thursday showed Bush ahead of McCain by 52 percent to 40 percent. McCain campaign officials began looking ahead to the Michigan primary on Tuesday, touting the Arizona senator's strength in the polls there and the endorsements of some state Republican leaders. Bush says he is not conceding the veterans vote to McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent five years in a Vietnamese POW camp. 'He can't hold a candle to Bush' On Friday, Bush brought Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, to campaign with him. At a rally at Presbyterian College here, Johnson said he knew McCain both as a POW and ...
