January 31, 2008 02:47 AM UTC

Giuliani Drops out - - Endorses McCain

• 1 Comments
• by: Polster

This should come as no surprised to those who have paid any attention to Rudy’s meteoric plunge in the Florida Polls, and the results of the FL Primary.

Will this help Mr. Romney?  Is he now the lone Conservative in the GOP race ?

With McCain’s tax record, does this leave Romney with a clear advantage with the Club for Growth Crowd?

I am starting to warm to John Mc Cain. I for one will have a hard time deciding between Obama and McCain.

By LIZ SIDOTI and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writers

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – Rudy Giuliani, who sought to make the leap from New York mayor to the White House, bowed out of the Republican presidential contest Wednesday and endorsed front-runner and longtime friend John McCain.

“John McCain is the most qualified candidate to be the next commander in chief of the United States,” Giuliani said. “He’s an American hero.”

Once the front-runner himself, Giuliani decided to abandon the race after a dismal performance in Tuesday’s Florida primary, a contest on which he had bet his political fortune. Instead, McCain won and Giuliani came in a distant third.

Giuliani recalled he had said in an earlier debate that McCain would be his choice for president if he were not running himself.

“If I’d endorsed anyone else, you would say I was flip-flopping,” he said, mentioning an oft-repeated criticism of McCain’s chief rival, Mitt Romney.

McCain, standing at Giuliani’s side, acknowledged his former rival as “my strong right arm and my partner.”

“This man is a national hero and I’m honored by his friendship,” he said.

The endorsement joined two Republicans who had campaigned on similar themes that highlighted their national security credentials – McCain’s status as a Vietnam POW, war hero and a Senate voice on defense matters, and Giuliani as a stalwart New York mayor during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.