McCain starts looking past Super Tuesday

NASHVILLE -- Don't be surprised if Sen. John McCain treats this weekend's campaign trail as something of a victory march.

McCain's endorsement-a-day tour continued Saturday in Tennessee, as former Senate majority leader Howard Baker lent his name to the Vietnam veteran's cause.

The Arizona senator cited Baker's support at a lunch-time rally at a half-filled gym on the campus of Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. McCain also appeared to solicit support of another prominent Tennessean, former presidential Fred Thompson, who has remained neutral since ending what McCain called "an honorable campaign."

"He's a fine man," McCain said. "He's a fine son of Tennessee and you can be very proud of Fred Thompson."

The McCain camp hopes a rolling series of endorsements will create the sense of inevitability about his nomination. Earlier this week, former opponent Rudy Giuliani and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger weighed in for him.

After the Nashville speech, McCain told reporters that he is confident he can unite his party, including the critical conservatives. He cited the support not just of elected officials, but such conservative stalwarts as Theodore Olson, the lawyer who argued the Bush-Gore case on 2000.

McCain in recent months has spent a lot of time trying to convince conservatives that he shares their ideology. He said Saturday that he has vast philosophical differences with Democratic frontrunners Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama.

"They're liberal Democrats and I'm a conservative Republican," McCain said. "That's why I'm sure I can unite my party."

McCain also declined to predict victory on Tuesday — sort of. "I hope I'm not too optimistic about Tuesday," McCain said. "I'm guardedly optimistic."

But he remained confident about his chances over the course of the entire campaign. "I assume I will get the nomination of my party," he said.

After Tennessee, McCain was scheduled to travel to Alabama and Georgia. Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia are among the 21 states holding GOP nominating contests on Tuesday. A New England trip to Connecticut and Massaschusetts is on the docket for Sunday.