The Wall Street Journal-20080215-Campaign -08- Romney Backs McCain in Bid To Unite Party

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Campaign '08: Romney Backs McCain in Bid To Unite Party

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Two weeks after declaring "Washington is broken" and John McCain part of the problem, Mitt Romney endorsed his old foe, furthering the process of unifying Republicans around their inevitable nominee.

Mr. Romney put their bitter primary fight behind him and asked his delegates to the national convention to support Mr. McCain.

"This isn't my first joint appearance with Senator John McCain, but it promises to be one of our more pleasant exchanges," Mr. Romney said yesterday at the Boston headquarters of his now-dormant campaign. "Even when the contest was close and our disagreements were debated, the caliber of the man was apparent."

The Arizona senator did not, strictly speaking, need Mr. Romney's blessing. His delegate lead is so large that he is sure to achieve the requisite numbers on his own before long. But the move could help the party unify around Mr. McCain, who faces deep skepticism among conservatives angry over his record on issues including immigration, campaign finance reform, global warming, tax cuts and stem-cell research.

Mr. Romney's fate was sealed with a poor showing on Super Tuesday Feb. 5, and he dropped out of the race a few days later. In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference later that week, he drew loud cheers and then horrified shouts of "no!" when he broke the news. Mr. McCain was greeted with a mixture of boos and applause when he took the stage later that day.

During the campaign, there was little warmth between the two men. They pounded one another in TV advertisements, automated phone calls, stump speeches and debates. While Mr. McCain has had a cordial relationship with Mike Huckabee, who remains in the race despite his near-impossible odds, his relationship with Mr. Romney has been hostile at times.

In the final stretch, Mr. Romney repeatedly said that voters should not expect different results by sending the same people in Washington to sit in different chairs. It was a clear reference to Mr. McCain. Mr. McCain was no kinder. He ran an ad in New Hampshire calling Mr. Romney a phony and said he had changed views on various issues for political expediency.

A total of 1,191 delegates are needed to claim the GOP nomination and Mr. McCain already has 843. Mr. Romney won 280 in the early contests, but they will not automatically be added to the McCain column. In many cases, delegates selected will be free to do as they see fit.