NPR: The Governator Announces His Support for McCain

The Governator Announces His Support for McCain

It was a sunny day for John McCain in California.

He toured a factory in Los Angeles that makes solar panels, then enjoyed some of the reflected star power of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The California Governor endorsed McCain five days before his state's primary. That's the biggest of more than 20 nominating contests on Super Tuesday.

"He's a great American hero and an extraordinary leader," Schwarzenegger said.

The governor praised McCain for his efforts to promote alternative energy and combat global warming. "He's a crusader. He has a great vision in protecting the environment and also protecting simultaneously the economy," Schwarzenegger said.

Schwarzenegger said he had remained neutral in the GOP presidential race until now to avoid choosing between two friends, McCain and Rudy Giuliani. The former New York Mayor dropped out of the race Wednesday and threw his support to McCain, clearing the way for Schwarzenegger's endorsement. "It's all Rudy's fault," the governor quipped.

Given his appeal to political independents, Schwarzenegger's endorsement may be more valuable in the general election than the primary, which is open only to registered Republicans. McCain still faces stiff competition among more conservative Republicans from former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

-- Scott Horsley

3:32 PM ET | 01-31-2008 | permalink

Send a Comment

Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:	» List of local stations (PDF)
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
May we contact you with information about NPR programming and services? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

Tom Regan

Blogger

About Us

This year's election cycle has been one of the most exciting in memory. At the NPR News Blog we'll do our best to bring you interesting, informative -- and controversial -- stories from our own reporters and bloggers, as well as the rest of the best of the Internet and blogosphere. And we hope you'll let us know what you think as well.

Want to learn more? Be sure to read our Frequently Asked Questions and our discussion guidelines.