Romney, McCain, Get Nasty in Sunshine State

In the GOP campaign's most acrimonious day, John McCain and Mitt Romney spent yesterday going for each others’ throats, trying to swing today’s critical Florida primary, which still looks like a dead heat in the polls, the Miami Herald reports. Romney accused McCain of championing a “liberal course.” McCain’s parry: “One thing I have to give Romney credit for is he's consistently taken both sides of any major issue.”

Negative ads and push calls flew—one McCain supporter reported getting five calls attacking the senator in 48 hours. Cuban Americans said they were told by callers that Romney supports trading with Castro, although McCain’s campaign denies involvement. A McCain win could crystallize him as a frontrunner, and prove he could triumph in a Republican-only primary. A loss would open up Super Tuesday for Romney. (More McCain 2008 stories.)