Romney sees Nixon tactics from McCain

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accused his rival John McCain of adopting underhanded tactics reminiscent of Richard Nixon, the GOP president who resigned in disgrace amid the Watergate scandal.

"I don't think I want to see our party go back to that kind of campaigning," Romney said in his most pointed rebuttal yet to front-runner McCain's charge that Romney favors a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

The former Massachusetts governor denies McCain's assertion, and most media analyses have concluded that Romney wasn't using the word

timetable

in the same way some Democratic candidates have.

McCain's decision to level the timetable charge this week without leaving Romney time to rebut it before Florida Republicans voted in their primary "was reminiscent of the Nixon era," Romney said. McCain, a senator from Arizona, won the Florida contest Tuesday.

Romney coupled his reference to Nixon with remarks calling McCain "a man of character." But he added: "I think he took a sharp detour off the Straight Talk Express" - the name of McCain's campaign bus.

McCain adviser Steve Schmidt responded that Romney "is lashing out because he's unable to defend his comments about a timeline, albeit a secret one."

A prominent Romney surrogate, former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois, also chimed in yesterday, making a reference to a 1991 scandal that touched McCain.

Hastert told reporters he had worked with McCain on legislation early in his congressional career, but "after the Keating Five scandal, he changed." By contrast, Hastert said Romney has "never been involved in scandal."

McCain was one of five senators involved in the Keating Five savings-and-loan scandal. The Senate ethics committee cited McCain for "poor judgment" but recommended no further action.

Both camps readied ad campaigns for the Super Tuesday Republican contests in 21 states. Both called the buys significant, but it was not immediately clear just how far-reaching they would be.

According to aides familiar with deliberations within Romney's campaign, he is preparing to spend $2 million to $3 million for five days of ads in most media markets in California and on cable channels or local networks targeted to other key states.

Romney's wealth is estimated at up to $250 million, and he has poured $35 million into his campaign. The former venture capitalist has stated that he and his wife have agreed on a personal spending cap, though they won't divulge the figure.

McCain aides said he, too, was preparing to run a high volume of commercials on national cable channels and in key states. But there was no immediate dollar figure available for McCain's ad buys.

A substantial weeklong broadcast campaign throughout California can cost $3 million or more. Running ads coast to coast is even more expensive, so both campaigns were choosing states or districts they think they can win.

Romney is trying to get back on track after losses to McCain in South Carolina and Florida. The Florida victory gave McCain a lead in the delegate count as well as the momentum in the GOP race.

After seven contests, Romney is down 83-59 to McCain in the delegate count, with 1,191 delegates needed for their party's nomination and 1,023 at stake Tuesday.

During a news conference yesterday, Romney predicted he, not McCain, would benefit when GOP voters think about the general election.

"People are going to stop and say, 'Who is going to post up best against Hillary Clinton, who is going to post up best against Barack Obama, who can talk about change, who can talk about the future, who represents the past, and who represents the future?' "

Romney is to campaign today in Colorado, followed by visits to Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri, Midwestern battlegrounds. In Missouri, a classic swing state, Romney enjoys the strong support of Gov. Matt Blunt.

Romney's home state of Massachusetts also votes Tuesday. His campaign tentatively planned to receive the Super Tuesday returns there. If he were to fail, Boston would be the most likely site of his campaign goodbye.

Along with targeted ads, McCain is planning to rely on momentum and "free" news coverage that comes with it by holding rallies and news conferences in California and big winner-take-all delegates states, including New York.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry backed McCain yesterday. Perry initially had backed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has left the race.