Giuliani drops out of presidential race, joins Schwarzenegger in backing McCain - Haaretz

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Last update - 17:33 31/01/2008

Giuliani drops out of presidential race, joins Schwarzenegger in backing McCain

By The Associated Press

Tags: elections, U.S., John Edwards

The field of presidential candidates has narrowed heading into Tuesday's half-dozen primary contests.

As Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are battling for the Democratic nomination, John McCain is pulling ahead of main Republican rival Mitt Romney, following an endorsing statement issued by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the race on Wednesday.

In a major boost for McCain, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is to announce his endorsement of the Arizona senator on Thursday, senior aides for the Republican governor said Wednesday. California, one of the states voting next week on Super Tuesday, offers nearly 15 percent of the total delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination.

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McCain was quickly endorsed by Rudy Giuliani, the same day that Democratic candidate John Edwards also abandoned his White House bid.

Adding to McCain's momentum, Romney, a former governor or Massachusetts, signaled Wednesday he's not ready to commit to a costly campaign in the states holding primaries and caucuses next week.

Several officials said that on the heels of a defeat in Tuesday's Florida primary, Romney's campaign was not attempting to purchase television advertising time in any of the nearly two-dozen states holding elections on Feb. 5, known as Super Tuesday.

Instead, the former Massachusetts governor's current plans call for campaigning in California and other primary states, said the officials, who had knowledge of the internal discussions. There would be organizational efforts primarily for caucus states.

At a televised debate Wednesday night, Romney and McCain sharply challenged each other's conservative credentials and ability to lead the country. But they generally remained civil, and each called the other a fine man.

Romney accused McCain of using dirty tricks by suggesting the former Massachusetts governor wanted a deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, in a spirited debate in Simi Valley, California, that underscored the intensity of their presidential rivalry.

Coming 24 hours after McCain defeated him in Florida, Romney vented his frustrations Wednesday night over his rival's claims from last weekend.

"I have never, ever supported a specific timetable for withdrawing troops," Romney said. "McCain's accusation on the eve of Tuesday's primary," he said, "sort of falls into the dirty tricks that I think Ronald Reagan would have found reprehensible."

McCain stuck to his guns, saying, "of course he said he wanted a timetable for a withdrawal." McCain had made the allegation in Florida as he tried to shift the debate from the ailing economy, a stronger issue for Romney, a former venture capitalist and businessman.

Last April, Romney said U.S. and Iraqi leaders have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about in private.

Romney tried to portray McCain, who performs well among political independents, as out of the conservative mainstream.

Among the Democrats - who hold their debate Thursday night in Los Angeles - Edwards' withdrawal turns the heated contest into a battle between Obama and Clinton.

Clinton won a largely symbolic victory in Florida. No Democratic delegates were at stake and no candidates campaigned there because of a dispute between the state and national parties over the date of the primary.

Speaking to a crowd in New Orleans on Wednesday, Edwards said it was time to step aside so that history can blaze its path in the race between a black man and a woman for the White House.

"With our convictions and a little backbone we will take back the White House in November from the Republicans," he said.

The former North Carolina senator had lost the previous four state contests, unable to overcome the star power of Obama and Clinton.

The impact of Edwards' decision will be felt in one week's time, when Democrats hold primaries and caucuses across 22 states, with 1,681 delegates at stake. Four in 10 Edwards supporters said their second choice in the race is Clinton, while a quarter prefer Obama, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo poll conducted late this month.

Edwards' withdrawal adds six of Edwards' delegates for Obama, giving him a total of 187, and four more for Clinton, giving her 253. A total of 2,025 delegates are needed to secure the Democratic nomination.

Giuliani, a former front-runner whose candidacy collapsed quickly once the primaries and caucuses began, endorsed McCain in glowing terms, calling him an American hero.

Giuliani finished a distant third in Florida on Tuesday after pinning all his hopes on the state and its community of retired New Yorkers.

McCain's victory in Florida was worth 57 Republican National Convention delegates, a winner-take-all haul that catapulted him ahead of Romney for the overall delegate lead.

More than 1,000 Republican delegates will be awarded on Feb. 5 in 21 primaries and caucuses. A total of 1,191 delegates are needed to secure the nomination at this summer's Republican national convention.

McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner-of-war, had been the early front-runner in the race only to see his campaign largely collapse last year. He rebounded with a coveted New Hampshire primary win on the back of support from independents. Still, many of the party's core conservative base remain wary of him, considering him too much of a maverick.

But with his victory in Florida, there were signs McCain may be breaking through as the choice of the party establishment and a candidate able to unite all wings of the Republican Party. If so, he may be unstoppable.

A disappointed Romney promised to press on after his second place finish following a tough Florida battle in which he traded insults and accusations with McCain. He said Wednesday that McCain may not be conservative enough to win the nomination.

"I think what will happen across the country is that conservatives will give a good thought to whether or not they want to hand the party's nomination over to Senator McCain," Romney said on ABC's Good Morning America.

Among the others, Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Baptist preacher who won Iowa, remains in the race, but has little money and finished a distant fourth in Florida. He could however split the conservative vote with his strong support among the religious right, a possible boost for McCain.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul has made no move to withdraw even though he scores in single digits in voting.

Clinton, locked in a tight race with Obama, looked at her wide margin of victory in Florida to boost her campaign ahead of Super Tuesday, in which 1,600 delegates are at stake. A total of 2,025 delegates are needed to secure the Democratic nomination at the party's convention in August.

But party rules alone make it unlikely that either one will emerge from next Tuesday with a commanding lead in the race for delegates. Unlike the Republicans, Democrats do not permit winner-take-all races.

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1.	Ride on McCain...leave the rest in the corral.	14:23	\|	Stephen.	31/01/08

2.	Excuse me, do you know Rudy McCain?	16:12	\|	a. michael b.	31/01/08

3.	Edwards quit, it will be Hillary vs. McCain	16:22	\|	Mark B.	31/01/08

4.	Scrambled, not over easy	17:31	\|	Morris Valentine	31/01/08

5.	Response to Morris Valentine	18:03	\|	Mark B.	31/01/08

6.	Ride on McCain?!@	18:35	\|	Brandon	31/01/08

7.	Ride on McCain?!@	18:40	\|	Brandon	31/01/08

8.	To Mark B (#5)	22:28	\|	Morris Valentine	31/01/08

9.	delegates	21:35	\|	M Schiefelbein	07/02/08

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