Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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February 8, 2008

McCain Appeals to Conservatives as Nomination Appears Certain
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1B304CA:A6F02AD83191E160A4743C2BDE2F9CE35C6F54A6CF9DC2CA& Republican senator
reassures crowd he has 'maintained the record of a conservative'
during his long political career U.S. Senator John McCain is focusing
his sights on the November presidential election, now that his major
rival for the Republican Party nomination, former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney, has suspended his campaign.







John McCain and his wife Cindy, 05 Feb 2008McCain, the veteran Arizona
lawmaker, tried to rally conservatives to his side Thursday, when he
spoke to a gathering of activists in Washington. Conservatives are
upset with McCain because of his views on immigration reform, and his
opposition to President Bush's first term tax cuts.

McCain assured the crowd that he has "maintained the record of a
conservative" during his long political career.

Earlier, Romney told the same crowd that he was suspending his fight
for the nomination so Republicans can focus on the November election
against the eventual Democratic nominee, either Senator Hillary
Clinton or Senator Barack Obama. He did not endorse McCain.

Romney's withdrawal came two days after winning some states in the
Super Tuesday voting, but not enough to match McCain.

The Arizona senator has more than half of the delegate votes needed to
win the nomination. Two other rivals, former Arkansas Governor Mike
Huckabee and Texas Representative Ron Paul, trail far behind.

For the Democrats, Clinton and Obama each scored key wins Tuesday but
no definitive victory. They are focusing on a race Saturday in
Louisiana and Tuesday in Washington D.C. and the adjacent states of
Maryland and Virginia.

2,025 delegates are required to win the Democratic presidential
nomination, while 1,191 are needed to win the Republican nomination.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and AFP


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