by Jill Zuckman
BURBANK, Calif. – The day after winning the all-important Florida primary, Sen. John McCain told reporters aboard his airplane today that he was looking forward to meeting with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is set to endorse him at 3 p.m. PST at the Reagan Library.
McCain said he had not spoken to Giuliani yet, even though word leaked Tuesday night that the former mayor would drop out of the presidential race and endorse McCain.
Tony Carbonetti, Giuliani’s closest adviser, visited McCain’s Miami hotel Tuesday afternoon and met with the senator and his top aides to make the arrangements.
“We waited for a phone call and we got the phone call,” one McCain adviser said, explaining that they did not initiate any request for an endorsement after Giuliani finished a dismal third place in the Florida contest.
Asked why he thought he beat former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, McCain joked, “I would like to say it was charisma.”
He chalked up the win to doing well on the economy and national security. “There’s a lot of military connection here, a lot of patriotism,” said McCain, who touted his experience as a Naval aviator.
McCain said he was surprised by the margin of victory – he won by five points. But when asked if he now considered himself the frontrunner, he said, “trying not to.”
“I know we’ve got a ways to go,” he said, acknowledging tensions within the Republican Party. “You’ve got to really have a united party. We all know that the party has great challenges. I see the polls that show the Democratic Party has more favorabilities on issues. We’ve got a lot of work to do. And a united party is really vital to do that.”