WASHINGTON, 1 February 2008 — Nobody ever thought the US presidential elections would be such a wild roller-coaster ride. Sen. John McCain’s defeat of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Florida’s Republican presidential primary leaves both major parties with marginal front-runners entering “Super Tuesday” on Feb. 5 — when 22 states will hold simultaneous primaries.
McCain is better positioned vis-a-vis his party rivals than is the Democratic front-runner, Sen. Hillary Clinton, which may allow the Republicans to settle on their nominee first — a distinct strategic advantage.
Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the Republican presidential race Wednesday and endorsed McCain, whose victory in the Florida primary on Tuesday night solidified his status as front-runner. Giuliani, who had built his candidacy on his handling of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, praised McCain as “an American hero” and “the most qualified candidate to be the next commander in chief of the United States.”
Many Giuliani supporters are now likely to swing behind McCain because both candidates were competing for votes from Republican moderates and national security hawks.
With Giuliani’s departure, the remaining front-runners are all pro-life. If President George W. Bush’s recent State of the Union speech was any clue, the issues driving the remainder of the Republican campaign will likely be economic policy and the “success” of the troop surge in Iraq.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday gave McCain the huge gift of his endorsement. Like Giuliani, Schwarzenegger is a moderate Republican whose positions are sometimes at odds with his party, and his state offers a significant number of delegates.
