McCain courts conservatives after Romney quits candidacy
GOP puts focus on US security
WASHINGTON - Senator John McCain yesterday became the presumptive Republican nominee when former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney quit the presidential race. McCain immediately began courting skeptical conservatives to help him prepare to take on an energized Democratic Party in the general election campaign.
Romney pulled out after failing to build a viable, nationwide coalition of conservative supporters, in part because they mistrusted him for changing his views on key issues. McCain, who has long squabbled with his party's right wing, now must bring aboard those conservatives without alienating the independents and moderates who gave him significant support in early primary races.
"I am proud to be a conservative, and I make that claim because I share with you that most basic of conservative principles: that liberty is a right conferred by our Creator, not by governments," McCain told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
McCain drove Romney out of the race by building an all-but-insurmountable lead in delegates with a string of big primary victories on Super Tuesday in a remarkable comeback from his near political implosion last summer. Former governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas remains in the GOP race, but he has struggled to expand his base, and Romney's exit means the next president will come from the US Senate for the first time since John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960.
Earlier in the day, in his own address to the conservative conference, Romney used his unexpected departure from the race to highlight what may be the preeminent fault line in the general election, suggesting that the top Democratic candidates - Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton - would make America more susceptible to terrorism.
"In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney told the conference.
Obama later was sharply critical of Romney's comment, telling reporters on his campaign plane: "That's the kind of poorly-thought-out statement that led him to drop out. It's a classic attempt to appeal to people's fears that will not work in this campaign. And I think that's part of the reason he was such an ineffective candidate."
But McCain echoed Romney's criticism of the Democrats in his own appearance at the conference later in the day, part of McCain's effort to mend fences with the party's right. McCain said Clinton and Obama would pull US forces from Iraq "on an arbitrary timetable designed for the sake of political expediency" that would expose Americans to dire security threats.
The remarks by Romney and McCain underscored the degree to which Republicans plan to run on national security as they face off against Obama or Clinton, both of whom have criticized President Bush's foreign policy as misguided and have said that, if elected, they would immediately start to bring US troops home from Iraq.
McCain suggested Al Qaeda had plotted the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks during Bill Clinton's presidency, and that electing a Democrat to the White House would return to an era of "timidity and wishful thinking at a time when we averted our eyes from terrible threats to our security that were so plainly gathering strength abroad."
He also called Senate Democrats' opposition to increased surveillance powers "shameful and dangerous," and he said both leading Democrats were asking for disaster in Iraq.
Obama and, to a lesser extent, Clinton have begun targeting McCain recently, attacking him at rallies, on TV, and in press statements as he has gained momentum. But even as they criticize McCain's foreign policy views and support for the Iraq war, they have pounced on what they see as his primary weakness: domestic policy, especially the economy.
"He essentially wants to perpetuate the same failed economic strategies of George Bush by providing tax cuts to the wealthy as opposed to working families who need relief," Obama told CNN earlier this week.
Campaigning in Virginia yesterday, Clinton called McCain a friend and colleague.
"But I believe that he offers more of the same," she said. "More of the same economic policies, more of the same military policies in Iraq."
Clinton also seized on McCain's recent comment that he was not an expert on the economy.
"He has the same kind of policies that haven't worked so well for the last seven years," she said. "I offer a very different vision about what we can be in America."
Democrats debated yesterday which Democrat would match up better against McCain. Democratic strategist Peter Fenn, who is neutral in the campaign, said both candidates would have strengths and weaknesses against the Arizona senator.
Obama, Fenn said, would be able to run on a promise of change and a generational shift, but he would be susceptible to criticism for his comparably thin resume on foreign policy. Clinton, Fenn said, would match up better on foreign policy and defense issues, but is more polarizing and could force conservatives to vote for McCain.
"I could make the argument both ways," Fenn said.
Polls this month by CNN and Time magazine indicate that Obama is doing slightly better than Clinton against McCain in a hypothetical head-to-head race.
Romney's decision to drop out of the race was made after he fell short of his goals on Super Tuesday, winning several states but ceding the most pivotal ones to McCain and Huckabee. His bid ended roughly 40 years after his father, George, withdrew from the 1968 presidential race.
Drawing on his strategic mind and work ethic, Romney built on his success in the private and public sectors to catapult himself into the top tier of GOP presidential hopefuls, mounting a strong campaign that at times looked difficult to beat. In a crowded field, he established himself as a serious contender by staking a claim to the party's conservative vote, building a network of supporters, and pouring more than $30 million of his personal fortune into the race.
But Romney was unable to shake perceptions that he had frequently changed his positions and that he was driven more by political expediency than conviction, and he never fully caught fire with his party's right-leaning voters. As a result, he was outmaneuvered by rivals in the states that mattered, notably Iowa, New Hampshire, and Florida.
Romney cast his decision as a selfless move designed to help the GOP, a signal, perhaps, that he hopes to remain in his party's good graces for a possible return to national politics.
"This is not an easy decision for me," said Romney. "I hate to lose. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, in this time of war, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country."
Following meetings with senior advisers and a wider group of staff and volunteers on Wednesday, Romney decided on his own to use yesterday's conference to disclose his intentions.
"He went home to Belmont to write his CPAC speech, and it turned into a farewell speech," said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom.
Romney decided to technically "suspend" his candidacy instead of ending it altogether. That means he will keep delegates pledged to him during the primary process, which will afford him some standing and influence at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in early September.
After his remarks, Romney went to Capitol Hill to thank his House and Senate supporters. He canceled an evening speech before Republicans in Baltimore.
McCain, who has had chilly relations with Romney during the campaign, yesterday called him a "great governor" and said he congratulated Romney by phone for running "an energetic and dedicated" campaign. Huckabee, who has also frequently tangled with Romney, said he wished him the best and was thankful for his "service and dedication."
"As a true authentic, consistent conservative, I have a vision to bring hope, opportunity, and prosperity to all Americans, and I'd like to ask for and welcome the support of those who had previously been committed to Mitt," Huckabee said in a statement.
Helman reported from Boston, and Issenberg from Washington. Marcella Bombardieri of the Globe staff contributed to this report; Scott Helman can be reached at shelman@globe.com. 