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 McCain Gets Nod From Nancy
by The Associated Press
Posted: March 26, 2008 - 10:00 am ET
(Bel Air, California) Former first lady Nancy Reagan
endorsed John McCain for president Tuesday night as the Arizona senator continued to
collect backing from leading Republicans who might help him unite the party and
win over critical conservative voters.
The GOP nominee-in-waiting, in the midst of a West Coast
fundraising swing, stopped by the Southern California home of President Reagan's
widow to accept the endorsement from the Republican matriarch he called beloved
and wonderful.
"I'm very pleased and honored to have the opportunity
again to be with Mrs. Reagan and to receive her endorsement for the nomination
of my party and for president of the United States," McCain said in a
five-minute appearance with the former first lady in the driveway of her gated
home. "President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan remain an inspiration to all of us,
as an example of honorable and courageous service to the nation."
In turn, she said only, "Ronnie and I always waited
until everything was decided and then we endorsed. Well, obviously, this is the
nominee of the party."
In a written statement issued earlier in the day, she
called McCain a good friend for more than 30 years.
"My husband and I first came to know him as a
returning Vietnam War POW, and were impressed by the courage he had shown
through his terrible ordeal. I believe John's record and experience have
prepared him well to be our next president," she said.
She and McCain met privately in the Reagan home before
they emerged, arm in arm, through the front door to meet reporters.
Her eventual support was expected, and she became the
latest top Republican to fall in line behind McCain. The two have long been
close.
The endorsement could help him shore up the backing of
conservatives who view him skeptically for his record of breaking with the party
on some issues.
McCain said he hopes the endorsement brings the fractured
party together and said: "This is an important, most important kind of
expression of confidence in my ability to lead the party that I could
have."
At the same time, a Reagan nod also could help further
align him with the former president who attracted Democratic as well as
Republican voters. Said McCain: "The Reagan Democrats are very important
and I hope every one of them and new Democrats will be watching."
The former first lady has nurtured her husband's legacy
and generally has stayed out of the political spotlight in recent years, with a
few exceptions. She remained quiet during the multicandidate fight for the GOP
nod but attended debates held at her husband's presidential library in Simi
Valley, Calif.
In 2006, she lobbied in favor of legislation to expand
federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, a position McCain shares, but
President Bush vetoed the bill. President Reagan suffered from Alzheimer's
disease.
She also waded into the Virginia Senate race that year
when Democratic candidate James Webb, who served as Navy secretary in the Reagan
administration, ran an ad featuring 1985 video footage of President Reagan
praising Webb's gallantry as a Marine. Nancy Reagan's office sent Webb's
campaign a letter objecting to the use of the Reagan footage.
©365Gay.com 2008
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