He’s in the papers and on TV, shaking hands and kissing babies, acting like any other candidate who’s running for president – except he’s not.
Mitt Romney’s running for vice president.
Romney’s been playing foot soldier for Sen. John McCain in Pennsylvania – lobbying heavily for an “M&M” ticket in November. His enthusiastic courting of the job, when most play coy or at least cool, has made him the target of an anti-Mitt media blitz.
Paul Weywrich, co-founder of the Moral Majority, used to be a Romney backer, endorsing him for president last November.
But now the Christian conservative’s done an about-face – and everywhere Romney appears for McCain, Weywrich’s group places full-page ads in newspapers declaring the former Massachusetts governor “utterly unacceptable” as a veep choice.
Romney’s “actions as governor flatly contradict both the values widely associated with his faith as well as his pro-life and pro-traditional marriage campaign rhetoric,” the ads say.
The Moral Majority placed the ads in Pennsylvania newspapers last week to coincide with Romney’s appearance at a Republican dinner in Lancaster on Thursday night, but the McCain camp declined to comment on them.
It was the first time Romney headlined a banquet for McCain, although he’s already done some campaigning for the GOP nominee in western states.
Once formidable rivals on the campaign trail, Romney and McCain have since formed a solid working relationship that’s paying dividends for the Arizona senator.
“The two of them have had the opportunity to spend some time together, and they really enjoy each other’s company,” said a source close to McCain, who said much of the tension between the two disappeared once the campaigning ended.
Romney is doing more than just stumping for McCain. The wealthy, former Massachusetts governor has opened up his Rolodex of deep-pocketed donors and is soliciting funds for the cash-challenged candidate.