McCain sets past grudges aside to get Bush re-elected

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By Todd J. Gillman

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

NEW YORK - It's hardly a love affair, the relationship between Sen. John McCain and George W. Bush.

But in politics, marriages of convenience can serve a purpose, too. And the Arizona maverick's willingness to buck the president every now and then makes his unbridled endorsement that much more potent.

"We need a leader with the experience to make the tough decisions and the resolve to stick with them," McCain said Monday night at the Republican convention.

McCain says he long ago got over the 2000 GOP primary fight, when, as he saw it, Bush and his supporters twisted his record on issues including clean air and breast cancer research. You can't hold a grudge, McCain says.

This despite:

His anger over "disgraceful" attacks on Democrat John Kerry's Vietnam record that Bush has yet to denounce to his satisfaction - attacks McCain called "the same kind of deal" Bush supporters pulled on him four years ago.

A spring of rumors of a Kerry-McCain ticket.

Countless policy clashes with Bush on taxes, gay marriage, stem cell research, oil drilling in Alaska and troop strength in Iraq.

But in the war on terrorism, McCain says, Bush has "led with moral clarity." To him, that issue trumps all others.

Having picked sides, McCain has poured himself into the cause. He'll be at Bush's side Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn., and Des Moines, Iowa, and again on Friday. The Bush campaign used his praise of the president's "moral clarity and firm resolve" as fodder for a quick TV ad tweaking Sen. John Edwards as Kerry's second choice for a running mate. He helped quash rumors that Bush might dump Dick Cheney, stumping with the vice president and singing his praises.

McCain "is a Republican. He supports the president's re-election," said John Weaver, an adviser to the Arizona senator.

No wonder Bush has been giving the senator bear hugs, and even a kiss on the forehead a couple of weeks ago at a rally in Pensacola, Fla.

"John McCain is a good Republican," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. "He's independent, but I think his views are good for the party overall. He'll continue to speak out. He's going to support the Republican ticket. He's made that clear."

Less clear is whether the former prisoner of war still harbors his own White House dreams. In 2008, he'll be 72, two years older than Ronald Reagan was when elected.

For now, Jan Brewer, Arizona's secretary of state and co-chair of its delegation, said McCain is doing good work wooing moderates and independents this week.

"John McCain is a straight shooter," she said. "He tells it like it is. I think people respect him for that. But he's a Republican."

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