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ITN
Giuliani backs McCain after quitting race
Giuliani backs McCain after quitting race
"America's mayor" Rudy Giuliani is backing Republican front-runner John McCain after pulling out of the race to the White House.The former New York mayor quit the campaign trail after his tactics of focusing on Florida and ignoring early states backfired with a disappointing result in the state's primary election on Tuesday night.California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is now set to endorse Mr McCain in Los Angeles, campaign aides have saidMeanwhile, Democrat John Edwards also abandoned his race for the White House, travelling to New Orleans, where he launched his campaign more than a year ago, to make the surprise announcement.The former North Carolina senator had vowed last week to stay in the race until Super Tuesday on February 5, when almost half the US states vote to pick candidates for the November election.Mr Edwards said: "It is time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path," said Edwards, who campaigned as the champion of low- and middle-income families. However, he did not immediately endorse either of his rivals, Illinois Senator Barack Obama and former first lady Hillary Clinton.At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, before a televised Republican presidential debate, Mr Giuliani said: "Today I am officially announcing my withdrawal as a candidate for president of the United States. John McCain is the most qualified candidate to be the next commander in chief of the United States."Mr McCain, standing beside his longtime friend, said all Americans recalled the former New York mayor's leadership after the September 11, 2001, attacks and predicted Mr Giuliani would be his "strong right arm" in the campaign.But Mr Giuliani's withdrawal leaves Mr McCain facing a strong challenge from Mitt Romney. At the debate, the pair accused each other of pursuing liberal policies out of step with mainstream Republicans.In the liveliest exchange of the debate, Mr Romney accused Mr McCain of "dirty tricks" for what he said was misrepresentation of his views on the Iraq war. Mr McCain said Romney's negative "attack ads" had set the tone for the campaign.© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
ITN | January 31, 2008
