McCain stumps for Giuliani

By Phil Hirschkorn/CNN

April 4, 2000
Web posted at: 4:58 p.m. EDT (2058 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Former GOP presidential candidate John McCain campaigned Tuesday in the hopes of bringing a fellow Republican to join him in the U.S. Senate. The Arizona senator appeared at two events on Long Island with New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is battling First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for the seat being vacated by New York Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Rudy Giuliani in the Senate will be a leader for the people of New York but also for the people of Arizona and the people all over this country," McCain said at a town meeting in Northport, New York.

While Giuliani has held 75 town meetings since he became mayor in 1994, this was his first as a U.S. Senate candidate.

Giuliani used the occasion to draw parallels between himself and McCain -- from criticism of the foreign policy conducted by the Clinton Administration, to habits of bucking the wishes of the leaders of their own Republican party.

"I don't believe Rudy, like me, will be 'Mr. Congeniality' in the United States Senate," McCain told the New York crowd. "But I do believe he will be an instant star."

Giuliani joked about his confrontational reputation, especially when a participant asked about Mrs. Clinton implying his temperament is unfit for the senate.

"Did she say I can't get along with anybody?" Giuliani screamed, pretending to get angry. "Sit down, shut up," he quipped.

Giuliani said it was untrue that he doesn't work well with those who don't share his views.

"I've also been mayor in a city that's five to one Democrats over Republicans. And I think I've been able to accomplish as much as any other mayor in the city, some people believe a lot more," Giuliani said.

McCain said Giuliani's independent streak would be an asset on Capitol Hill.

"Sometimes we need some tough guys around Washington, D.C., to get the job done," he said.

McCain's campaign stop was his first on behalf of a congressional candidate since he abandoned his presidential bid last month. The senator has since formed a political action committee, "Straight Talk America," to prolong his reform message and support his travel around the country.

More than 40 candidates for the U.S. House -- including incumbents and challengers -- and numerous Senate candidates have invited McCain to campaign for them, according to McCain spokesman Todd Harris. But the PAC is not designed to donate money to their campaigns, he explained.

McCain plans to be on the road for about 10 days each month between now and November, speaking at colleges and town halls for the most part -- the sort of forums favored by his presidential campaign.

Before the town hall meeting, Giuliani and McCain visited breakfast diners in Roslyn.

McCain lost the New York presidential primary to Texas Gov. George W. Bush, 50 percent to 44 percent, and Bush took about two-thirds of the state's delegates. But McCain did well on Long Island, winning 12 of the 15 GOP delegates at stake there.

Giuliani and McCain, who are longtime friends, seem to find a little of themselves in the other, and each have the same sort of appeal to voters.

"There's two ways of working in Washington," McCain said. "One is to go along and get along. The other is to stand up for what you believe in."

"I think they want real candidates who really tell people what they think, and are actually willing to lose rather than distort their position," Giuliani said of voters.