John McCain Endorses Romney, Telling Obama, 'You Can Run But You Can't Hide'
Former presidential candidate and Arizona senator John McCain endorsed Mitt Romney in New Hampshire on Wednesday.
In the 2008 election, John McCain and Mitt Romney fought as rivals until Romney eventually lost and endorsed McCain. Now, it is McCain who is supporting Romney, the most consistently popular Republican candidate for the 2012 presidential election.
Standing beside Romney in a New Hampshire town hall, McCain had one message for President Obama: “You can run but you can’t hide,” McCain said. “You can’t hide from your record.”
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He said he believed Romney will lead from the front like Ronald Regan and not lead from the back like President Obama does- particularly in regard to foreign policy.
In the Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney barely came out in first place with 30,015 votes. Rick Santorum came a close second with 30,007 votes. Ron Paul came in third with 26,219 votes.
Newt Gingrich came in fourth place earning 16,251 votes. Gingrich was the leading candidate until negative ad campaigns, led by Romney, began to take their toll.
Rick Perry came in fifth place with 12,604 votes. He announced today that he will keep running in the race while Michele Bachmann suspended her campaign today after coming in sixth place with just 6,073 votes, or five percent of the vote in her home state of Iowa.
In her speech, Bachmann said she had no regrets and ran to protect America’s freedoms. She referred to President Obama’s healthcare plan repeatedly.
“While a congresswoman by title, a politician I have never been nor will I ever hope to be,” she said at a Des Moines press conference. “I ran because I believed that, since day one, Barack Obama’s policies, based on socialism, are destructive to the very foundation of the republic.”
Jon Huntsman, who earned 745 votes, has also endorsed Romney in New Hampshire today.
Santorum endorsed Mitt Romney in his 2008 electoral bid on the grounds that he would do anything to stop McCain from becoming president. But it may hurt his campaign in New Hampshire where McCain’s endorsement carries a lot of weight. McCain won the New Hampshire primaries in 2008. The state may then also support Mitt Romney in the New Hampshire caucuses next week.
