On the Radar
Bush ‘41’ to endorse McCain
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by Associated Press
Friday, February 15, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush will endorse John McCain in Texas on Monday, Republican officials said. The
endorsement represents another step in McCain’s tightening grip on the
Republican presidential nomination. The officials spoke Friday on
condition of anonymity because the formal announcement is next week. Since
he took a commanding lead in the delegate count, the Arizona senator
has been working to solidify his support from the Republican base. On
Thursday, he picked up the endorsement of his one-time chief rival,
former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The endorsement of the former
president and patriarch of the Bush family also could help with party
stalwarts. His son, the current President Bush, has not yet
formally endorsed McCain because former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in
still in the race, but he strongly signaled his support last weekend in
a cable television interview. The president told “Fox News
Sunday” that McCain is a “true conservative” but may have to work
harder to convince other conservatives that he is one of their own. McCain
“is very strong on national defense,” Bush said in the television
interview. “He is tough fiscally. He believes the tax cuts ought to be
permanent. He is pro-life. His principles are sound and solid as far as
I’m concerned.” When asked about criticism of McCain by
conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, the president
said, “I think that if John is the nominee, he has got some convincing
to do to convince people that he is a solid conservative and I’ll be
glad to help him if he is the nominee.” Bush said some of the
criticism of McCain was the result of “probably, some personal
animosity toward me. You can’t please all the people all the time.”
