McCain-Romney Battle Heats Up

Dec. 29, 2007 — -- "It's not personal," Michael Corleone says in the movie "The Godfather" about the planned hit of a rival. "It's business."

The sharp exchanges that erupted this past week between the campaigns of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are showing indications that for these two rival camps it may be both.

It was probably inevitable that the rhetoric between two candidates in a hotly-contested race for their party's presidential nomination would become harsh as the New Hampshire primary approached. But there also seems to be an undertone of mutual dislike in the two sides' increasingly strident attacks and counterattacks.

Things became especially heated this past week when the Romney campaign ran an television ad in New Hampshire that blasted McCain over immigration.

The ad opens with a soft soap line like those Romney often uses before attacking an opponent. "John McCain, an honorable man," the narrator intones over ominous background music. "But is he the right Republican for the future?" It goes on to say McCain "pushed to let every legal immigrant stay here permanently ... even voted to allow illegals to collect Social Security. And Mitt Romney? ... He opposes amnesty for illegals."

Factcheck.org called the ad's description of McCain's positions on immigration "false and misleading."

McCain aides appeared genuinely outraged. They accused Romney of distorting McCain's positions while innocently defending the ads as a mere "contrast" of positions.

The McCain campaign had just released its own New Hampshire television commercial that was decidedly low-key. It highlighted 20 McCain newspaper endorsements, including several New Hampshire dailies.

At first, the McCain response to the Romney ad was restrained. His campaign released only a written statement quoting McCain saying the Romney ad was evidence that his campaign was in a "tailspin."

But the wound festered. By Friday, McCain was hinting that a vigorous push-back was forthcoming.

"We were just going to issue a statement," he said in Iowa, "But we may have to … unfortunately, we have to respond. This is one of a number of attacks he's made on me. But as we've gone up in the polls, his attacks on me have grown more, shall we say, hysterical."

A new McCain ad entitled "Consider" was released Friday afternoon, just in time to make it onto the network news broadcasts. It quotes excerpts from the New Hampshire Union-Leader and Concord Monitor, including the lines from the latter "if a candidate is a phony we'll know it. Mitt Romney is such a candidate."

Meanwhile, the McCain campaign sent an e-mail to reporters containing a Slate.com article about an ad McCain had made but not released. It features a string of past clips of Romney embracing positions on such issues as abortion and gun control that he now renounces.

This time, Romney cried foul. He called the McCain ad a "nasty" and "mean-spirited" personal attack on him.

That reaction, in turn, left one McCain aide flabbergasted: "Let me get this straight," the staffer said. "Mitt Romney launches negatives ads in Iowa [against former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee] and New Hampshire and now he wants to play the victim? That's pathetic."

Arriving in New Hampshire Friday night, McCain said, "Look, I know these campaigns are wearing. They're tough. I've been in them before." With a laugh, he added: "Try to relax, Mitt."

Romney press spokesman Kevin Madden responded to ABC News today: "It's not a surprise that McCain lashes out in a very personal and negative way. That's just the McCain way. No issues, no substance."

As Madden commented, yet another Romney TV ad attacking McCain was released.

In New Hampshire, McCain defended his decision to go after Romney.

"You either respond, which we will do once, or you let it sit out there absolutely untrue," he said on his Straight Talk Express bus. "So we've made our choice, and I think it's the right thing to do."

There is surely no love lost between these two camps. Months ago, when McCain was on the ropes, Romney staffers would sometimes privately ridicule his campaign and its misfortunes. When the Drudge Report ran a negative item about McCain earlier this month, aides to McCain ascribed the report to "gutter politics." In private, they pointed a finger at the Romney camp.

The Romney strategy has long been based on winning Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two contests. With polls showing McCain advancing in New Hampshire and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee leading in Iowa, Romney is fighting furiously to avoid foundering on that same strategy.