McCain a booster as Romney works to win over skeptics

But when former rival John McCain called with an offer to be listed as host for the event in his hometown, Romney happily went back to the printer for a new invitation with McCain’s name emblazoned on it.

Yesterday, McCain’s gesture helped Romney’s political action committee raise about $80,000. It also consummated an 18-month rapprochement between two competitors who battled for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. Acrimony has been replaced by a professional friendship, the latest success in Romney’s methodical campaign to win over past skeptics as he prepares for another presidential run in 2012.

McCain did not attend the fund-raiser - he was in Washington - and he has not endorsed Romney or anyone else to be the next Republican nominee. But the imprimatur of the party’s standard-bearer on Romney’s nonstop fund-raising machine suggests that the former Massachusetts governor may be a stronger political force than he was when he ended his campaign last February, elevated by his party’s disarray and a national agenda that matches his business resume.

“He has more respect and appreciation within the party because he has a very strong financial background,’’ McCain said in an interview.

During their primary campaign, McCain did not describe Romney in such favorable terms. He complained that debating Mitt Romney was like “wrestling with a pig,’’ though that did not keep him from enjoying the tussle with an opponent he saw as opportunistic and insincere.

When news broke that illegal immigrants had tended the yard of Romney’s home in Belmont, McCain mimed pushing a lawn mower, unable to hold back a broad grin.

His business career had been driven “for profit’’ rather than “for patriotism,’’ McCain alleged, singling Romney out among his Republican opponent for piquant personal attacks.

“One thing I think we should really give Governor Romney credit for: he is consistent,’’ McCain told voters. “He has consistently taken both sides of any major issue. He has consistently flip-flopped on every issue.’’

He declared that Romney’s anti-immigration position showed him to “want the office so badly that you would intentionally make our country’s problems worse.’’

But any grudge Romney held was temporary. After a dismal Super Tuesday performance, some Romney aides encouraged the candidate to remain in the race as a short-term spoiler who could consolidate conservative opposition to McCain. Romney rebuffed them, quickly endorsing McCain - enthusiastic and seemingly unconflicted about backing his former opponent.

“Every time our campaign asked him to go someplace or do something, he was always ready and willing to do it for us,’’ McCain said.

On McCain’s behalf, Romney tapped the same fund-raising networks - running through Harvard, Bain Consulting, the Mormon world, and Utah - that had helped him raise $65 million for his own campaign. McCain came to see Romney as a good-natured traveling companion, and seriously considered him for vice president. Romney was eliminated in favor of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, aides say, largely because he seemed like the least exciting choice available.

When Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy less than three weeks later, Romney was among a small group of advisers McCain gathered at a New York hotel. The former financier’s explanation of the risks of such failures helped inspire McCain to buck congressional Republicans and support bailing out the financial-services sector, according to McCain adviser Mark Salter.

“He had made a favorable impression, with fund-raising and surrogate stuff,’’ said Salter. “But we realized at that point in the campaign that we were really going to rely on him for some guidance on what to do, after Lehman Brothers went down.’’

For the rest of the election, McCain - who had famously conceded his limited understanding of economics - started calling Romney whenever he wanted a straightforward explanation of the complex financial phenomena dominating the news.

As McCain fumbled in his public comments on the subject, his campaign effectively deputized Romney to be its lead spokesman on economic issues, leading some Republicans to quietly suggest the prospect of “buyer’s remorse’’ in the vice presidential pick.

“Financial expertise is much more valued than it has been in the past,’’ said Arizona state treasurer Dean Martin, who supported McCain last year but attended yesterday’s fund-raiser. “This economy has gotten everyone’s attention.’’

The event, which attracted about 150 people, was the third on a western fund-raising swing by Romney.

The money helps support a busy calendar of speeches and fund-raisers that have helped to expand Romney’s network nationwide. In October, Romney will headline five events to raise money directly for Senate, gubernatorial, and state legislative candidates.

“Most of the McCain primary supporters were front-and-center,’’ said Saul Anuzis, a former Michigan party chairman who saw Romney speak at his state’s Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference last weekend. “I don’t think with many people it’s personal. It’s political. Just because they supported someone else last time doesn’t mean they couldn’t support him this time.’’

Even as he had kind words for Romney’s future, McCain cautioned that his support was far from an endorsement for the presidency, comparing him to several of his party’s likely 2012 contenders (although notably not Palin).

“If any of them, whether [Minnesota Governor Tim] Pawlenty or [Louisiana Governor Bobby] Jindal or Romney, were in our state and wanted to do a fund-raiser, we’d be glad to host them,’’ said McCain. “It’s certainly not a preference for the nominee 3 1/2 or four years from now.’’