Score: Romney 1, McCain 0, NYT 0
The Times' endorsement of media favorite John McCain in the Republican primary came up again in Wednesday night's GOP debate from the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., reported Michael Cooper and Michael Luo in "Romney and McCain Tangle at Debate, but Also Try to Mold a Two-Man Race."
"Conservative orthodoxy - and who best adhered to it - was at the heart of the debate. The forum got off to a rollicking start when Mr. Romney, struggling after his loss in Florida the day before, questioned Mr. McCain on his support of an overhaul of campaign finance, which conservatives view as an assault on free speech; an immigration proposal that they decried as amnesty; and a program to limit carbon emissions that Mr. Romney said would raise gasoline prices by 50 cents a gallon.
"'Those views are outside the mainstream of Republican conservative thought,' Mr. Romney said. 'And I guess I'd also note that if you get endorsed by The New York Times, you're probably not a conservative.'"
Score one for Romney there.
