GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY ENDORSES JOHN MCCAIN FOR PRESIDENT

At a press conference in Boston today, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney endorsed John McCain for president. In addition, Governor Romney pledged all 289 of his delegates to John McCain, putting McCain over the required 1,191 delegates necessary to secure the Republican nomination.

See delegate count here: http://www.johnmccain.com/pathtovictory/

Governor Romney issued the following statement on his endorsement:

"Thank you all very much. And thank you all for joining us on such short notice.

"This isn't my first joint appearance with Senator John McCain, but it promises to be one of our more pleasant exchanges.

"I am honored today to give my full support to Senator McCain's candidacy for President of the United States. Today I am asking my delegates to vote for Senator McCain.

"As you all saw over the past year, things can get rough in a political campaign. And in the thick of the fight it's easy to lose sight of your opponent's finer qualities. But in the case of Senator John McCain, I could never quite do that. Even when the contest was close and our disagreements were debated, the caliber of the man was apparent.

"This is a man capable of leading our country at a dangerous hour. Senator McCain understands the war we are in -- the necessity of victory and the consequences of surrender. For him, national security isn't just another item on the agenda. It is the abiding concern and responsibility of our nation.

"This is a man who tied his political fortunes to the fortunes of his country in a time of war. Such courage is not always rewarded in politics, but it was this time -- and that is a credit to both the man and to the party he will lead in the election of 2008.

"This is a man who has served and suffered for his country. John McCain's greatest test was long ago. But the loyalty, and love of country, and strength of heart that saw him through are still the qualities that define him. With their rhetoric, our Democratic opponents are very skilled at striking heroic poses. But with our Republican nominee, we're going to offer America the real thing.

"I am pleased to introduce a real America hero, the next president of the United States, Senator John McCain."

John McCain made the following remarks thanking Governor Romney for his endorsement:

"I thank Governor Romney for his endorsement. More than that, I thank him for the hard, intensive, fine, honorable campaign that he ran for the nomination of our Party. And I think it is also extremely important to me that not only do I have his endorsement, but that we join together now and travel this country not only on behalf of my candidacy, but on behalf of our Republican candidates for the House, the Senate, for Governor and all of the other races that we are committed to and are so important to the future of this country.

"I'm grateful for the fact that Governor Romney has served the state of Massachusetts. I'm grateful that he ran a hard, tough, and frankly a campaign that helped me become a better candidate not only in the primary, but also in the general election.

"Governor Romney will help me draw the stark differences that exist between myself and the things that he and I stand for and believe in and the Democratic candidates. Whether we have higher taxes, as the Democrats will want to impose, or lower taxes. Whether there will be a government-run health care system in America, or whether families will make choices on health care. Whether we will retreat and declare withdrawal from Iraq, or whether we will continue this surge and now the political process that's moving forward there. There will be stark differences.

"I look forward to campaigning with Governor Romney and I look forward to his continued, very important role of leadership in our Party that he has exercised in the past and will exercise even more so in the future. Governor Romney, I thank you. We all know it was a hard campaign -- primaries are tough. We know it was a hard campaign. And now we move forward together for the good of our Party and the nation and I am very honored to have Governor Romney and the members of his team at my side -- that's a vital ingredient for victory in November."

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