Schwarzenegger and Giuliani back McCain's campaign
Thursday, 31 Jan 2008 20:18
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger backs John McCain
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has given his support to the presidential campaign of Arizona senator John McCain.
Mr McCain is currently the front-runner of the field of candidates for the Republican nomination to run in this year's presidential race.
And Mr Schwarzenegger said he was backing Mr McCain because he offered the American people "a great future"
"I think that Senator McCain has proven over and over again that he is reaching across the aisle in order to get things done.
"There are people out there that talk about reaching across the aisle but he has shown the action over and over again."
Mr Schwarzenegger also championed McCain's "crusade to end wasteful spending in Washington", along with his "great vision in protecting the environment... and the economy simultaneously".
"He has incredible credentials on national security and of course he is a fantastic, outstanding public servant," Mr Schwarzenegger added.
"He is a great American hero and an extraordinary leader. This is why I am endorsing him to be our next president of the United States."
Mr Schwarzenegger is a popular figure within the Republican party and joins former New York mayor and candidate Rudy Giuliani in backing Mr McCain.
Mr Giuliani pulled out of the race yesterday following his poor showing in the Florida primary, where he finished a distant third behind McCain and Mitt Romney despite spending around $30 million (£14.2 million) and campaigning hard.
And he also referred to Mr McCain as a great American hero as he withdrew himself from the candidacy race.
"Today I am officially announcing my withdrawal as candidate for the president of the United States," Mr Giuliani confirmed.
"And so deciding who to endorse in my particular case is not difficult because if I endorsed anyone else, you would say I was flip-flopping after already having endorsed John."
He added: "Mr McCain is an American hero, and America could use a hero in the White House."
Mr McCain is a former fighter pilot who sustained injuries while fighting in Vietnam, an arena where he claims to have developed his Republican ideas.
He will now go forward to 'super Tuesday' as the narrow favourite, where he will compete with the remaining candidates - Mr Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul - as 20 states go to the polls to pick Republican and Democrat candidates.