Bush/McCain on Whistle Stop Tour

— -- Hoping to make a run at the nations’s biggest electoral-college prize, George W. Bush continued his train tour of California — joined by his former rival, Sen.John McCain.

By Peter DizikesABCNEWS.comAug. 10— Former rivalsGeorge W. Bush and Sen. John McCain hit the campaign trail together in California today, joining forces as part of Bush’s bid to win the nation’s biggest state.

“The primaries are over,” McCain said at a news conference in Salinas, Calif., referring to the often-bitter battle the two men waged for the GOP’s presidential nomination.

The Arizona senator added that he was “committed to moving forward,” and said he was “very optimistic” about Bush’s chances to win California.

Bush also played down any notion of lingering animosity between the two.

“I think you can judge a man by the company he keeps,” Bush told the crowd at an afternoon rally in Salinas. “I’m keeping pretty good company.”

At the earlier news conference, Bush said he had a “good chance of carrying California,” the nation’s biggest electoral-college prize with 54 votes. Democrat Bill Clinton handily won the state in both the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections.

C-A in Play?

The joint appearance comes on the heels of some good news for Bush. A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows the Texas Gov. trailing his Democratic rival, Vice President Al Gore, by just three points in the state, 40 percent to 37 percent. Green Party nominee Ralph Nader came in at eight percent and possible Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan had one percent.

But Bush’s post-convention bounce in the polls, as well as the possibility that Nader could siphon votes away from Gore, means that the Republicans have not given up hope of carrying California.

McCain’s said he hoped that this appearance — his first at a Bush campaign event — would appeal to California’s sizeable chunk of the independent voters, a group McCain drew heavy support from during the primaries.