The battle for the Republican nomination has moved to the important swing state of Michigan where voters today will choose between Governor George Bush and Senator John McCain, who is hoping for a comeback after his defeat in South Carolina.
Mr McCain's home state of Arizona is also holding its primary today but is less significant than Michigan because he is presumed to be the winner and Mr Bush has not campaigned there.
But Mr Bush needs to win in Michigan to show that his 11-point win in conservative South Carolina has put him on the winning trail after his disastrous start in New Hampshire where he lost by 19 points. Mr McCain is hoping to repeat his New Hampshire success by appealing to Michigan's Democrats and Independents who are allowed to vote in today's primary.
A poll in the Detroit News showed Mr McCain ahead by 40 to 38, but it was taken last week before Mr Bush's win in South Carolina. Among likely Republican voters, Mr Bush was ahead of Mr McCain by 18 points.
Michigan is significant because it is the largest state so far in the Republican primary campaign and the most industrialised. It will deliver 58 delegates to the winner of today's primary.
Feelings are running high between the two main candidates after the bruising campaign in South Carolina which ended with an unusually bitter concession speech by Mr McCain, who accused Mr Bush of preaching "a negative message of fear" and of taking "the low road to the highest office in the land".
In Michigan, Mr McCain has accused Mr Bush of running a campaign of "character assassination" in TV ads. He has mocked Mr Bush's claim to be a reformer, saying: "If Governor Bush is a reformer, I'm an astronaut."
Mr Bush retorted: "It sounds like Senator McCain is spending a lot of time talking about me and I want to spend a lot of time talking about the future."
Congressman Peter King of New York, well known for his involvement in Northern Ireland, has switched his endorsement from Mr Bush to Mr McCain following the formers visit to the Bob Jones University when campaigning in South Carolina.
Critics of the university say it espouses anti-Catholic and segregationist views and bans interracial dating. Mr King, a Catholic, said the US needed "a Reagan conservative who will not yield to the temptation of pandering in ways that support bigotry".
Mr Bush has replied that his meeting at the university did not mean he supported its policies. He pointed out that his younger brother, Jeb, was a Catholic and was married to an Hispanic woman.
It remains to be seen if Mr Bush will be damaged among the numerous Catholics in Michigan by going to the Bob Jones University. Mr Bush has the support of the popular Governor of Michigan, Mr John Engler, who has thrown the Republican organisation in the state behind Mr Bush. This could be a big advantage in such a truncated campaign.
Meanwhile, a survey among historians of the 41 American presidents ranks President Clinton at 21. The results of the survey were announced yesterday to coincide with the annual Presidents' Day holiday.
Mr Clinton is slightly ahead of Presidents Carter, Ford and Nixon but well behind Presidents Kennedy (11), Johnson (10) and Reagan (11). The list is headed by Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and George Washington.
The overall ranking is based on 10 qualities. Under "moral authority", Mr Clinton is ranked 41, presumably because of his impeachment over the Lewinsky affair. He scores highest under "economic management" and "pursued equal justice for all" where he is placed fifth.