McCain, Bush Ready for Long GOP Battle

A happy but tired John McCain reached out Wednesday to gather more Republicans to his coalition of independents and Democrats, while George W. Bush dug in for the prolonged nominating fight he hoped to avoid.

One day after his twin victories in Michigan and Arizona recast the Republican presidential primary, Sen. McCain of Arizona stumped in Seattle and took aim at the greatest single problem in his campaign so far: his inability to attract large numbers of core Republicans.

“I am a proud conservative Republican. I am a Reagan Republican, have no doubt about that,” he told a Rotary Club crowd of about 800 in Seattle, where voters go to the polls Tuesday. “I have to convince and tell the Republican Party establishment: ‘It’s great over here. Come on in. Join us. Join us in this effort to be an inclusive party. Join us in this effort to reach out.’ ”

McCain drew one of the largest crowds of his presidential campaign Wednesday evening when about 5,000 people stood in a chilly rain at Puget Sound Naval Base in Bremerton, Wash., for up to three hours to hear from the senator.

Texas Gov. Bush campaigned in Los Angeles, reaching out to Latino audiences at a Spanish-language event and insisting that his defeats Tuesday in Michigan and Arizona were only “a glancing blow.”

Bush offered briefly worded congratulations to McCain on several occasions but never failed to mention the possible spoiler role Democrats may have played in McCain’s Michigan win.

Exit polls indicate more than half of the voters in the Republican Party’s open primary in Michigan on Tuesday were Democrats or independents, most voting for McCain. Michigan Democrats hold their presidential primary on March 11.

“In [Michigan], there was a clear effort by people to hijack the primary,” he charged. “I didn’t anticipate that nearly 20% of the Republican primary would be made up of, in many cases, liberal Democrats.”

Regardless, Bush’s setbacks provoked widespread second-guessing within the GOP establishment, which bet heavily on the Texan as the party’s best hope of locking up the nomination early, the better to beat the Democratic nominee in the fall.

“There’s a lot of people who signed on early with Gov. Bush who are wondering why this is going on so long,” said New Hampshire’s Republican Party chairman, Steve Duprey.

Candidates Again Note Bitter Tone of Contest

Critics found fault with everything from Bush’s heavy spending in Arizona--McCain’s home state--to his controversial visit to South Carolina’s Bob Jones University, which has a well-publicized policy banning interracial dating and a reputation for anti-Catholicism.

“I think it was stupid,” Connecticut Gov. John Rowland told the Associated Press.

Once more, both Republican candidates traded charges over the increasingly bitter tone of the GOP contest. Bush repeatedly expressed anger Wednesday at suggestions of insensitivity. “I do not appreciate being called a bigot,” he said at one point, attacking a McCain phone-calling campaign directed at Catholics in Michigan.

The script read by callers stated that Bush “stayed silent while seeking the support of Bob Jones University.”

McCain acknowledged responsibility for the calls but defended their accuracy. “It’s factual, it’s factual,” he said. “I’m going to keep reminding people.”

Bush also took after McCain for his frequent invocation of Ronald Reagan. “It is not Reaganesque to discontinue charitable giving,” Bush told reporters after a stop at the Los Angeles International Church and Dream Center, reprising an attack on McCain’s tax plan. “It’s not Reaganesque to support a tax plan that is Clinton in nature.”

He added: “I find it amazing that somebody running for president feels like, on the Republican side, now all of a sudden they’ve got to start reaching out to Republicans.”

After an 11-percentage-point win over McCain in South Carolina on Saturday, the Bush camp had hoped to quash McCain’s insurgent campaign with a decisive win in Michigan. Instead, he is now contemplating a stepped-up travel and spending regimen in advance of the March 7 primaries, which include California, New York and 10 other states.

Bush Talks to Los Angeles Students

In Los Angeles on Wednesday, Bush was welcomed by a class of giddy and nervous grade-schoolers at a Christian school. He grew animated talking about his early plans. “My dream was to play baseball,” Bush said. “But you know what happened? I realized I couldn’t hit the ball that moves sideways. So I had to adjust my dreams.

“I never really grew up wanting to be president, I’ll tell you that,” Bush chuckled. “I guess the point is you’ve got to set realistic goals.”

Later, the governor traveled across town to Loyola Marymount University for a question-and-answer session arranged by the Spanish-language network Univision.

He spoke via satellite with audiences in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno, saying he hoped to reach Latino voters through support for better schools and entrepreneurs.

McCain, meantime, made stops in Spokane and Seattle. Washington state votes Tuesday, along with Virginia and North Dakota.

The senator was endorsed by Edith Roosevelt Derby Williams, 82, granddaughter of Teddy Roosevelt, a role model frequently invoked by McCain.

McCain spoke of cutting taxes, restoring Social Security and providing money to give teachers merit pay. In Seattle, scene of the World Trade Organization riots last year, he bragged of his opposition to any trade barriers. “I am the most free-trading senator you will ever know,” he said. “I believe free trade is the key to the future of our economy.”

McCain also pointed to results from Tuesday night as further proof of his ability to get out the vote among those who traditionally don’t visit the ballot box. As in New Hampshire and South Carolina, turnout in the Michigan primary shattered past records, leaping from half a million voters to nearly 1.25 million people.

In a further sign of his increased strength, the campaign reported taking in $250,000 over the Internet in the 24 hours after winning the GOP primaries Tuesday. “Something we’re doing, and it has to be the message of reform, is having a significant impact,” McCain said.

At the advice of his campaign staff, McCain planned on resting up for the better part of two days later this week after nearly two months of nonstop campaigning. He and his wife, Cindy, and their children planned on recuperating at a cabin the family owns near Sedona, Ariz.

“I’m a little tired, I’m a little fatigued,” he said as his bus, the Straight Talk Express, ground through downtown Seattle. “I feel fine. But they think and I think they’re right, that a day off would be very invigorating for me.”

Bush also planned a day off the campaign trail today, back at the governor’s mansion in Austin.