New York Times backs Clinton and McCain

Hillary Clinton and John McCain won a major endorsement today ahead of key primary elections in their parties’ nomination contest.

The New York Times said the former First Lady and New York senator would be “the best choice for the Democratic Party” while it noted the former prisoner of war and Arizona senator was the first among Republicans to point out “how badly the war in Iraq was being managed”.

But the same editorial offered scathing criticism of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, whom it described as “a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man”.

Some pundits noted that the criticism could boost the campaign of Mr Giuliani, who has failed to finish higher than fourth in any primary election or caucus so far.

For Mr Giuliani, Florida is everything. Despite spending more than 30 million dollars to date, and campaigning for in excess of 50 days in the state, he trails the frontrunners by 10 points in third place.

But the man who led New York in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks insisted his campaign strategy, of effectively ignoring the first six states to vote and concentrating on the larger states such as Florida, was not a mistake.

He said: “I think that it was politically correct to focus on Florida.”

Laughing nervously, he added: “It was the best choice when you consider all the circumstances that were presented to us – about resources, and about strengths and weaknesses, and a place where you could make your case most effectively.

“And the fact that this is a wide-open race means that no, I don’t think it was a mistake.”

Today’s editorial in the New York Times read: “The real Mr Giuliani, whom many New Yorkers know and mistrust, is a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man who saw no need to limit police power.

“Racial polarisation was as much a legacy of his tenure as the rebirth of Times Square.

“Mr Giuliani’s arrogance and bad judgment are breathtaking.

“The Rudolph Giuliani of 2008 first shamelessly turned the horror of 9/11 into a lucrative business, with a secret client list, then exploited his city’s and the country’s nightmare to promote his presidential campaign.”

Mr Giuliani said that the attack was “because I probably never did anything The New York Times suggested I do in eight years as mayor of New York City. And if I did, I wouldn’t be considered a conservative Republican”.

The newspaper said it had “strong disagreements with all the Republicans running for president” and has “shuddered at Mr McCain’s occasional, tactical pander to the right”.

But it said his stance on the war and his advocacy of campaign finance reform made him “the best choice for the party’s presidential nomination”.

Its support of Mrs Clinton was more wholehearted ahead of tomorrow’s Democratic primary election in South Carolina.

While still noting that her main rival Barack Obama had “built an exciting campaign around the notion of change” and adding there was little difference between the two on the main issues, it said voters must judge candidates “not just on the promise they hold, but also on the here and now”.

Referring to the view of Mrs Clinton as a polarising figure in American politics, it went on: “We know that she is capable of both uniting and leading.”

But it also urged her to “take the lead in changing the tone of the campaign” after a week of political feuding between her, her husband former president Bill Clinton and the Obama campaign.

“It is no good for the country, the Democratic Party, or Mrs Clinton,” it said.