Lieberman to endorse McCain for president

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Sen. John McCain, trying to build momentum toward a reprise of his 2000 New Hampshire primary victory, is piling up high-profile endorsements, including one from another political maverick, Sen. Joe Lieberman.

The Connecticut senator, an independent who was the Democrats' 2000 vice- presidential nominee, was to announce his support for McCain at a town-hall meeting this morning in Hillsborough.

A Lieberman adviser said the senator decided to back McCain despite their different party affiliations because he believes his colleague from Arizona "has the best chance of uniting the country in its fight against Islamic terrorism."

The adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in advance of the formal announcement, said Lieberman would continue to caucus with Senate Democrats, and said his decision was not a reflection of any lingering tension with his old party after high-profile Democrats abandoned him when he lost the Democratic primary during his 2006 Senate re-election campaign.

McCain's campaign hopes Lieberman can help appeal to some independents in New Hampshire, who are free to vote in either the Republican or Democratic presidential primary ahead of the November 2008 election. McCain is counting on a win in New Hampshire to propel him into later races.

Word of the endorsement follows several other high-profile announcements for McCain, including weekend endorsements by The Des Moines Register and The Boston Globe.

Romney says he'll keep promises

WASHINGTON — Republican Mitt Romney sought Sunday to deflect charges that he is a flip-flopper, insisting he had learned from experience and could be counted on to keep his campaign promises if elected president.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, also called on his top rival Mike Huckabee to apologize to President Bush. In an article in the journal Foreign Affairs, Huckabee criticized Bush's foreign policy as an "arrogant bunker mentality."

Huckabee said no apology is necessary and that Romney should read the article.

Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," a somewhat defensive Romney acknowledged that he has shifted positions on some issues and explained that he did so after learning from experience. He said it would be a mistake if a candidate "stubbornly takes a position on a particular act and says, 'Well, I'm never changing my view based on what I've learned.' "

"If you're looking for someone who's never changed any positions on any policies, then I'm not your guy," Romney said.

At the same time, Romney insisted that as governor he kept all of his campaign promises despite changing some views, and said he would stick to his promises if elected president.

"Bottom line: All the positions you laid out today as a presidential candidate, can you assure the voters you won't flip back to some of the positions you had when you were governor of Massachusetts?" asked NBC moderator Tim Russert.

"Of course," Romney responded.

Seattle Times news service