Opinion: Only 4 letters but a big name for McCain
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Tom Kean, the chairman of the 9/11 Commission and former governor of New Jersey, endorses Sen. John McCain for the GOP presidential nomination.
The two Republicans held a news conference at Boston’s Logan Airport, the departure point for two airliners that crashed into the World Trade Center’s twin towers. ‘This is the first time in 20 years I’ve endorsed anyone on the national level,’ Kean said. ‘Usually I stay out of these things. This is an endorsement, frankly, of conscience.’
‘This is a man who has all the qualities, when put together, to lead our country,’ Kean added.
The Kean endorsement plays to McCain’s campaign theme on national security and can help balance the constant drumbeat of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on his 9/11 leadership including a new ad today that cites his crisis management skills. Not coincidentally, such a strategy by the Arizonan also could help him circumvent lingering animosity among conservative Republicans over McCain’s stand on immigration and campaign finance reforms.
‘In the history of our nation,’ Kean said today, ‘a mere handful of senators have exerted a greater influence over free men and free women than even some presidents of the United States. John McCain has been one of those senators, and he has tremendous respect throughout the world.’ Kean also credited McCain with strong support for the 9/11 panel’s 41 safety recommendations, as well as a post-attack overhaul of the nation’s intelligence services.
McCain clearly reveled in the endorsement and noted that Kean had joined his team of national security experts that include Henry Kissinger, George Schultz, Alexander Haig, James Woolsey, Lawrence Eagleburger and James Schlesinger.
According to the Real Clear Politics average of public polls, McCain stands in third place in New Hampshire and nationally, fourth in South Carolina, Michigan and Florida and fifth in Iowa. A McCain advisor told Politico.com that the campaign intended to keep a nominal presence in Iowa but was counting on New Hampshire as a last chance for victory and momentum.
Tom Kean Jr., a New Jersey state senator and son of the former governor, has endorsed Giuliani.
The next big news would be if Lee Hamilton, the vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, endorses McCain. He’s a former congressman from Indiana -- and a Democrat.
--Andrew Malcolm