93 Reagan Officials Back McCain

Heavy hitters from Reagan era back senator

Excerpt:

By Jennifer Harper - Lawrence Eagleburger, George P. Shultz, Marlin Fitzwater, Robert Mosbacher, Alexander M. Haig Jr., Margaret Tutwiler, Gen. P.X. Kelley, Dan Coats — the list is weighty with stalwarts from another political era.

The Reagan era, that is.

There are 93 self-proclaimed "Reagan alumni" who worked for the former president and who now insist that Sen. John McCain of Arizona has compelling Gipper-esque qualities and is the sole candidate who could unite a fractious Republican Party.

"There has been some back and forth about which of the Republican candidates was most like Ronald Reagan. An unusual number of Reagan administration alumni began to look to John McCain. In Congress, he led the fight to limit government, lower taxes, cut spending and keep families strong," said Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., who served as White House counsel from 1987 to 1989 and is now chairman of the law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP.

"McCain also doesn't have a sense of entitlement. He's motivated by obligation. Like Reagan did, he sees government service as an honor and a privilege," Mr. Culvahouse said.

"I think Reagan would have agreed with McCain that we must win in Iraq. Both of them had long-held beliefs that were not negotiable," he added. "John McCain is the only candidate who can rally the Reagan coalition of conservatives, independents and conservative Democrats needed to defeat the Democratic nominee."

Comment: I do too!