McCain: "We're doing well, but it's not over"

Arizona Sen. John McCain is the overwhelming front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, but he told a crowd in Seattle on Friday he's taking nothing for granted and urged supporters to turn out in force for today's caucuses.

"We're doing well, but it's not over," McCain said to a cheering crowd of about 400 in a half-full ballroom during a speech that was open to the public at the downtown Westin Hotel, where he also held a private fundraiser.

McCain, before a backdrop of local GOP luminaries, including former Sen. Slade Gorton and Attorney General Rob McKenna, also glanced toward the November general election and the looming Iraq war debate with Democrats.

McCain, an early supporter of President Bush's current troop increase in Iraq, called the war a battle against "an evil of epic proportions" and said he would engage the eventual Democratic nominee in a "respectful" debate.

But he vowed to oppose setting any deadline for troop withdrawal.

"If we set a date for withdrawal, a date for surrender, we will lose that conflict," McCain said. "Al-Qaida will tell the world they defeated the United States."

McCain, who was shot down as a naval aviator in Vietnam and spent more than five years as a prisoner of war, said he'd rely on Gen. David Petraeus as "the only voice" on when American troops should stand down in Iraq.

McCain has seized a commanding lead in delegate totals and was dubbed the presumptive nominee by the national media after rival Mitt Romney abandoned his campaign this week.

But the coronation has not been viewed kindly by some conservatives, who have been angered by McCain's views on issues such as immigration and his votes against some Bush-era tax cuts, though McCain said Friday night he now wants to make those cuts permanent.

James Dobson, one of the country's most influential evangelical leaders, endorsed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee this week and indicated he would not vote for McCain if he were the GOP nominee, according to The Associated Press.

And locally, some evangelicals are still hoping Romney voters will shift to Huckabee and hand him a victory in Washington's caucuses.

Joe Fuiten, pastor of the Cedar Park Church in Bothell and a leader among Washington's evangelical Christians, traveled with Huckabee's wife, Janet, during a visit to Kirkland on Friday.

"It's not over yet. The media has been real quick to bury Mike Huckabee, but he's been resurrected more often than Jesus," Fuiten said. "Our people are pretty fired up, so I think we've got a good shot at this thing,"

McCain acknowledged his differences with the conservative wing of his party, but said he spoke with Romney on Friday and that "our goal now is to unite our party."

In an interview with reporters on a bus from Boeing Field before the Westin event, McCain said he'd appeal to Republicans with his record of trying to control government spending.

"I understand I have to unify the party. I also understand our base is dispirited over overspending. They're very dispirited over that. I believe that's the reason why we lost the 2006 election," he said.

McCain's appeal to moderates or independents could help him in November with voters such as Dimitry Davydow, 29, a Seattle psychiatrist who watched McCain's speech at the Westin.

Davydow described himself as uncommitted and said he voted for President Bush in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004. He said the fact that some evangelicals are uneasy with McCain is a plus in his book. "I like my president to be more than a one-trick pony," he said.

A frequent critic of congressional earmarks inserted into spending bills, McCain vowed during his Westin speech to veto every single one of them.

His spending crusade touched a major local employer when McCain launched investigations that scuttled Boeing's $21 billion deal to lease fuel tankers to the Air Force.

While he said he was proud of his efforts to kill a "sweetheart, corrupt" deal that sparked criminal convictions, McCain told reporters he now "feels fine about Boeing" since the company's new CEO, James McNerney, assured Congress of its commitment to ethics.

While McCain swept through Seattle before heading to San Diego, Huckabee spent Friday campaigning in Kansas, which also holds its Republican caucuses today.

His wife spoke to about 400 people at Northwest University, a Christian college in Kirkland.

Despite McCain's lead, Janet Huckabee told the crowd that her husband remains in the race because "people deserve a choice." The Huckabee campaign, she noted, had come a long way since he started the race as a longshot.

"Now he's almost the last man standing," she said.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who visited Seattle last week, also remains in the field.

Washington State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser said despite McCain's front-runner status, the spate of recent candidate visits show the race is not over.

"Overwhelming favorite does not equal automatic victory. Just ask the New England Patriots," Esser said.

Seattle Times staff reporter Peyton Whitely contributed to this report.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com