Former Gov. Mitt Romney and former Gov. Mike Huckabee have both promised to do everything they can to get Sen. John McCain elected president.

But both are also busy plotting, positioning themselves not only as the best vice president material for John McCain, but also as strong candidates on their own merits looking ahead to 2012, writes RealClearPolitics’ Reid Wilson.

Mitt Romney has been readily involved so far, and as more Americans focus on the economy, the better he may look. McCain may need a Vice President with real economic credentials, although animosity is still said to exist between the two.

Mike Huckabee, too, is staying active, and brings a level of executive experience that even McCain lacks. Although some fiscal conservatives aren’t fans, social conservatives would love this addition to a John McCain-led ticket.

BANK ON IT: If John McCain loses in November, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney will fight it out for the Republican nomination four years from now.

Their potential starting points? Drum roll… Iowa and New Hampshire! Both swing states, and two of only three (with N.M.) to flip from 2000 and 2004.

Look for Huckabee or Romney to set up shop in Des Moines and try to lock down those seven electoral votes for McCain - and start building the brand for 2012.

Sen. John McCain is headed for the nomination of his party, and there’s a lot talk as to who might join him on the Republican ticket.

Below are some of the potential Republican V.P. candidates bandied about so far and After W’s decidedly unscientific analysis of each.

At this early stage, we won’t try to handicap favorites, and it’s not a Vice Presidential short list but a rather a long list to spur debate.

If we left off any potential John McCain running mates, or you would like to voice your opinion on any, please leave a comment and share.

THE INSIDERS

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: Would bring gender and racial balance to the ticket, but also closely linked to George W. Bush.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell: Ditto. Minus the gender part.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush: Likable, successful guy from a crucial state, but this is not the year to run on that surname.

Former Homeland Security Secretary and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge: A well-respected post-9/11 figure, and close to McCain, but a moderate.

How would a John McCain / Condoleeza Rice ticket fare in November?

THE CONQUERED

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: A catch-22 of sorts in that Mike Huckabee is popular with social conservatives, but also not popular with many in the GOP for firing up said conservatives against McCain.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: A lot going for him, but also a lot of baggage. Namely, the fact that John McCain is not a fan.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson: Would have been a better selection if not for his own “candidacy” this winter. Not because conservatives dislike Fred, but because he didn’t really seem to give a $h!t about running.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani: The anti-Barack Obama, he may actually be less appealing the more you get to know him.

THE GOVERNORS

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford: The young governor and Southerner draws support from both fiscal and social conservatives. Imagine that!

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal: The 36-year-old Indian-American is a rising star in the GOP, but likely too new and inexperienced right now.

Continue reading this article …

Former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney announced Thursday that he is backing Sen. John McCain in his bid for the Oval Office.

“I am honored to give my full support to Sen. McCain’s candidacy for the presidency of the United States,” Mitt Romney said, McCain by his side.

Introducing him as a true American hero, Romney said he had no doubt McCain should be the next president of the United States.

Romney’s move frees up all 280 delegates he won across the U.S., giving McCain 1,113 total delegates, just 78 short of securing the nomination.

Last week, Mitt suspended his campaign, saying it was in his party’s best interest not to “forestall the launch of a national campaign and be making it easier for Sen. [Hillary] Clinton or [Barack] Obama to win.”

So how did an endorsement of a man Mitt Romney railed against for months come to pass? And what was the true motivation behind it?

Unlike Clinton and Obama, who Democrats almost universally like, Romney and McCain trigger real animosity among supporters - and each other.

According to CNN, negotiations that led to Romney’s endorsement included a prominent role by John Weaver, who served as John McCain’s top political strategist until he was forced out last summer.

Continue reading this article …

Super Tuesday has come and gone.

The candidates pumped their fists in the air, argued over who won delegates where, vowed to carry on, and even quit the race.

But most importantly, the White House hopefuls brought searchers to the Internets! Here’s a look at their respective Yahoo! buzz …

Mike Huckabee: The former Arkansas governor took several Southern states in the voting bonanza, and boosted buzz on his campaign. Lookups for “huckabee for president” topped the list of queries for the one-time minister. Does that mean he’ll compete with John McCain suddenly? Doubtful.

Hillary Clinton: The New York senator could be the first female nominee for president, but searchers were more interested in her past. “Hillary Clinton high school pictures” surged 232 percent to become this week’s fastest growing search query for the former First Lady.

John McCain: Though the Republican stalwart emerged as Super Tuesday’s clear winner, web users couldn’t take their minds off… Cindy McCain! Search demand for “john mccain’s wife” jumped 230 percent.

John and Cindy McCain topped GOP primaries … and web searches!

Barack Obama: The Illinois upstart continues to attract supporters, but he can’t seem to quash rumors about his religion. Tuesday’s fastest moving Obama search was a question: “is obama muslim or christian.” Answer: Christian. He attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago.

Ron Paul: The biggest search spike for the Texas libertarian and Internet phenom suggests a need to talk. Demand for “Ron Paul forums” hurdled all other queries to top the roster of Ron Paul-related searches.

Mitt Romney: The former Massachusetts governor, who just quit the race, saw a big jump in general searches for him this week. Specifically, a 150 percent bump for “mitt romney wikipedia.” Telling sign that after a year of campaigning, still no one knows who this guy is. Side note: if you want to read wikipedia’s article on him, why not just go to wikip… forget it.

John McCain effectively sealed the Republican nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his campaign for the White House.

Prevailing in most Super Tuesday states, John McCain took a huge lead over both Romney and Mike Huckabee and moving closer to the delegate totals needed to officially win the nomination.

Romney leaving the race erases any doubt.

Saying he “must now stand aside, for our party and our country,” Romney evoked the failed campaign of Rudy Giuliani and proved himself even more of a cheap hack than thought by playing the terror card!

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror,” Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

NOTE: No word on whether Sens. Clinton or Obama were inspired by Mitt and plan to unveil a new “Surrender to Terror! Vote Democrat!” slogan.

Today was the end of the line for Mitt Romney.

He notched a series of wins and won delegates throughout the campaign, but in the end, Romney couldn’t overcome two obstacles:

1. Conservative or not, the image of him as a shameless opportunist and flip-flopper stuck, while McCain is anything bit.
2. Huckabee not only stayed in a race Romney tried to turn into a two-person affair, he staged a mini-comeback Super Tuesday.

As for the analysis of why Mitt Romney quit, remember who we’re talking about. He cited the war in Iraq - a pro-McCain statement - but nothing he says can be taken at face value. Wheels are surely in motion.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution opines that in his 22-minute address, Mitt Romney may have been pitching himself as the liaison between John McCain and the GOP’s most conservative elements.

In other words, with the rapid progression of his departure / implicit endorsement of McCain, is Romney still trying to supplant Huckabee as the true conservative in this race - and angling for the #2 spot?

Arizona Sen. John McCain seized command of Republican race last night, winning delegate-rich primaries in the East Coast and California.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, meanwhile, continued to prove a thorn in Mitt Romney’s side by staging a mini-comeback in the South.

But it was McCain’s victory in the Golden State that dealt the biggest blow to his closest pursuer, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

“We’ve won some of the biggest states in the country,” the Republicans’ (71-year-old) comeback kid told supporters at a rally in Phoenix, calling himself the front-runner at last, adding, “I don’t really mind it one bit.”

While John McCain celebrated with wife Cindy, Mitt Romney vowed to fight on - before having more nightmares about Mike Huckabee.

McCain’s wins aren’t convincing, but are still wins, and the delegates all go to the winner in many GOP races. If there’s an anti-McCain movement within the party, that movement can’t seem to pick a candidate.

A Romney win in Missouri or some of the Southern states where Huckabee did particularly well may have changed the complexion of this race, but as it stands, McCain is way ahead and time is running out.

In the only competition that matters, John McCain now has 522 delegates, more than 40 percent of the 1,191 needed for the nomination.

Even so, Romney (223 delegates) and Huckabee (142 delegates) both said they are planning on staying in the race until the bitter end.

On top of California, McCain won in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Missouri, Delaware and his home state of Arizona - each winner-take-all primaries. He also scored wins in Oklahoma and Illinois.

Mike Huckabee won his home state of Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee as well as the West Virginia caucuses.

Mitt Romney won two of his many home states - Massachusetts and Utah - as well as caucuses in North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota and Colorado.

With 68 percent of towns reporting results, Mitt Romney had 52 percent of the vote in the Maine caucuses as of Sunday night.

Arizona Sen. John McCain had just 21 percent.

With 18 delegates to the Republican National Convention at stake, Romney won them all and pulled within five delegates of McCain overall.

Yet McCain is running away with the GOP race.

The problem? Mitt’s being shellacked in national polls, many key figures are lining up behind McCain and Super Tuesday is a de facto national primary.

With Maine in his column, Mitt Romney has actually won four states so far (Wyoming, Nevada and Michigan being the others) to three for McCain (New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida) and one for Mike Huckabee (Iowa).

The problem? Almost all of the national media attention has been focused on
New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and Iowa.

What about me!? Mitt Romney won his fourth state, but few noticed.

While the former governor has reason to gripe that his wins aren’t being given enough attention, the real problem with his candidacy is Mitt himself.

The unfounded questions and criticisms surrounding his Mormon faith pale in comparison to the perception among some voters - just enough, apparently, to keep him from winning a nomination ripe for the taking - that for all his good qualities, Romney is but an empty suit, a shameless opportunist.

The two Romneys simply can’t convince enough Republican primary voters that he is a better choice than John McCain, who is getting by on integrity, heroism and popularity among independents (all well-earned).

“Conservative voices, both from radio and from publications, are saying ‘You know what, we’ve got to get behind Mitt Romney. We can’t afford John McCain as the nominee of our party,’” Romney told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer yesterday. “That kind of groundswell is what led me to win in Maine.”

Plenty of them are - but more aren’t. The united GOP Mitt sought to galvanize either doesn’t exist, or he’s not the one to unite it.

For all the millions the presidential campaigns have spent, it’s pretty hard to sway public opinion away from the pre-existing basics.

Hillary Rodham Clinton? Female, feminist… a Clinton. Barack Obama? Inexperienced. Mitt Romney? Mormon. John McCain? Military service.

And old.

Yet McCain, the Arizona senator who has won the past two GOP primaries, has turned that around and become his party’s front-runner.

No one has been better at shaping public opinion so far in the 2008 race than McCain, especially on the Republican side.

According to an AP-Yahoo poll released Friday, John McCain, 71, is widely seen as experienced, strong, honest and decisive.

On the flip side, nearly half of those polled could not say anything when asked to describe McCain’s primary remaining rival, Mitt Romney.

Surprising, especially for Mitt Romney (pictured) who spent $40 million (much of it his own) to get his name and message before voters.

The survey shows people largely drawing their views of the candidates from contenders’ personal qualities and traits.

Even many Democrats have little bad to say about McCain.

Continue reading this article on voters’ political pulse …

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney accused rival John McCain of adopting underhanded tactics from Richard Nixon.

Nixon, of course, resigned in disgrace in 1974.

With the Ronald Reagan love-fest that goes on each and every time these guys get together, is Mitt trying to employ the negative version of the same strategy by linking McCain and Nixon?

“I don’t think I want to go back to that kind of campaigning,” Romney said in response to McCain’s recent remark that Mitt favors a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

Mitt Romney dropped the N-bomb (Nixon) on John McCain.

Mitt Romney denies this and most media analyses have concluded that Romney wasn’t using “timetable” in the same way Democrats 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 ended up winning Florida Tuesday.

“I think he’s a man of character,” Romney said of John McCain, but added: “I think he took a sharp detour off the Straight Talk Express,” referring to the Arizona senator’s campaign bus.

John McCain and Mitt Romney set their sights on next week’s Super Tuesday voting contests following a bitter sparring match Wednesday night over Iraq, immigration and the economy.

Tension between Florida primary winner McCain and runner-up Romney dominated last night’s debate in Simi Valley, Calif. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Texas Rep. Ron Paul also took part.

McCain, the Arizona Senator, again accused Romney of setting a timetable for withdrawal of the U.S. from Iraq, a charge Romney denied.

“I do not propose, nor have I ever proposed, a public or secret date for withdrawal,” Romney said.

John McCain also said “we may have to go further” to stimulate the economy, in connection with a statement about the stimulus packages making their way through Congress.

McCain and Romney sparred early and often.

Romney said he supported President Bush’s first-term tax cuts. “I believe in getting rates down,” he said. “I think that builds our economy.”

John McCain and Mitt Romney are locked in what has now become largely a two-man race for the Republican nomination.

Huckabee won Iowa’s caucus January 3 but hasn’t won another contest, while Paul remains in single-digits polling-wise. On Wednesday, former N.Y. City mayor Rudy Giuliani quit the race and endorsed McCain.

The intangibles would seem to strongly favor McCain here, but Romney has something in his arsenal McCain cannot match: money.

In Florida alone, Romney was able to air 4,475 ads compared to McCain’s 470 - and Romney’s air power is likely to dwarf McCain’s on Super Tuesday, an advantage McCain will try to counter with free media.

Today, McCain is beginning campaigning San Francisco. Later, he’s expected to pick up another endorsement - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - then finish the day at a fund-raiser in L.A.

Mitt Romney, meanwhile, is canvassing the southern part of the Golden State with four appearances set for Thursday.