Mitt Romney, John McCain Ratchet Up Rivalry

Thursday, May 17, 2007 1:23 p.m. EDT

Mitt Romney, John McCain Ratchet Up Rivalry

A long-brewing feud between presidential hopefuls John McCain and Mitt Romney burst into the open during Tuesday’s GOP debate – and continued Wednesday as the candidates returned to the campaign trail.

With Rudy Giuliani holding his position as the Republican leader in national polls, McCain and Romney view each other as the biggest obstacle in their respective paths to the nomination, according to the Washington Post.

On Tuesday night, Romney questioned McCain’s conservative credentials, noting that he had co-sponsored, with Democrats, legislation on campaign finance and immigration reform. McCain countered by referring to Romney’s flip-flopping on important issues.

The bad blood was again in evidence on Wednesday, with McCain’s chief strategist John Weaver telling the Post: "We'd like nothing better than for all the campaigns to run on their positive agendas for the future. Governor Romney and his Boston advisers believe they can't win with that. So be it. But if they think they can misrepresent John McCain's record with impunity, then they'd better buckle up their chinstraps."

Alex Castellanos, Romney's media adviser, "made clear his camp is prepared to wield equally sharp elbows in the months ahead,” the Post reported.
He also said: "The more [voters] look at these top three guys as presidential contenders, the more they will look at the differences between them. The only thing better than a little Mitt Romney is a lot of Mitt Romney."

McCain and Romney have been competing with each other for months over endorsements, campaign talent, positioning and money "while paying less attention to Giuliani,” the Post observes, adding: "McCain's underlying assumption has been that Romney, though he has often struggled to get out of single digits in national polls, poses a potentially serious threat. The Romney camp has long regarded McCain as a formidable rival.”

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