Jan 31, 2008 10:32 am US/Pacific
Schwarzenegger Endorses Sen. John McCain
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed Sen. John McCain Thursday, the latest in a growing series of boosts for the Arizonan's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
McCain was endorsed by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani Wednesday, a day after McCain's victory in the Florida primary made him the frontrunner and Giuliani's third-place finish knocked him out of the race.
Both Schwarzenegger and Giuliani are moderates whose positions on such issues as abortion and gun control are anathema to conservatives, a body of Republican voters that McCain seeks to win over. But their endorsements could help him with moderate Republicans and independents.
Schwarzenegger, who had said he would not endorse anyone, changed his mind, saying he was coming out in support of McCain because his election would help ensure a "great future" for the United States.
The governor was flanked by McCain and Giuliani as he made the endorsement during a visit to Solar Integrated Technologies.
McCain's leading rival for the Republican nomination, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, will remain in the Southland Thursday, a day after a debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
Romney is scheduled to visit a Long Beach home for what the campaign is billing as a "kitchen table discussion," and a furniture store in Fountain Valley before a fundraising lunch in Irvine. He will conclude his day in San Diego.
In Thursday's debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Romney and McCain clashed over how much support Romney had given the Iraq troop surge in 2006, with McCain accusing Romney of dodging the issue by saying it was a federal matter of no concern to a Massachusetts governor.
Romney, meanwhile, accused McCain of raising a false issue -- Romney's stance on Iraq -- just before Tuesday's Florida primary in "an attempt to do the old Washington-style politics: to lay a charge out there, just throw it out into the media."
McCain fired back, blasting Romney for "millions of dollars of attack ads that you leveled against me ... that have set the tone, unfortunately, in this campaign."
The candidates also disagreed on whether Americans are better off after seven years of President Bush's Republican administration, echoing a comment made by Reagan in his closing statement in the 1980 debate against then-President Jimmy Carter.
McCain said the Bush presidency was generally positive, noting, "We have had a pretty good prosperous time with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things that have happened. A lot of jobs have been created."
Romney would not directly answer the question -- is the nation better off -- despite repeated prodding from moderator Anderson Cooper of CNN. He focused instead on economic growth during his term in Massachusetts.
"I'm not running on President Bush's record," he said. "President Bush can talk about his record. Washington is badly broken. I think we recognize that. Washington has not dealt with the problems that we have in this nation."
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
