Following up on Matt’s post below about Dole’s endorsement of McCain, Romney says Dole is the last person he’d like supporting his candidacy and McCain is demanding an apology.
Romney made these remarks on Fox News and on Laura Ingraham’s radio show.
Consequently, McCain’s camp has issued a statement that says:
“Governor Romney's attack on Bob Dole is disgraceful, and Governor Romney should apologize. Bob Dole is a war hero who has spent his life in service to this nation and nobody has worked harder to build the Republican Party. Bob Dole deserves the respect of every American and certainly every Republican.”
The background on this is that Dole wrote conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh a letter pleading him to consider supporting McCain. “I cannot recall a single instance when he did not support the party on critical votes,” Dole’s letter said. [the full text of the letter is available here]
And now, some of McCain’s own supporters are backing up his call for an apology. Sen. Sam Brownback (R.-Kans.) issued a statement through the McCain campaign that called Romney’s comments “disgraceful.”