McCain

Michael Goldfarb at The Standard:

When Napoleon was asked what quality he most wanted in his generals, he replied "just one--that they be lucky." Presidential candidates are no different. But the other thing that got McCain this far was hard work. He was out their pressing the flesh in New Hampshire when Rudy and Fred couldn't be bothered. I traveled around with him in New Hampshire for a day--he knew everybody, and he just never stopped plugging away. Like Gary Player, the harder McCain worked, the luckier he got--and there's no doubt, it's better to be lucky than good.

Neocon Express:

We are happy to extend our official endorsement to Senator John McCain. I find the Hysterical reaction to McCain by some fellow conservatives distasteful. A true American war hero, pro-life and a real leader, not a slick pretender and fancy talker who has never done anything (like many of his critics). It is the man in the arena who counts, not the yappers in the bleachers. He is imperfect as all of us are, and I don't agree with all of his past activities on immigration, campaign finance or the 'no vote' on the Bush tax cuts. But on balance he is an attractive candidate with an unbeatable resume with a wide appeal, which is exactly what we need right now. Most importantly, he truly gets the threat of radical Islam and has the longest resume on National Security issues, which is this site's top concern. JOHN McCAIN FOR PRESIDENT!

John Hood at NRO:

Rudy’s strategy essentially succeeded — but he didn’t. The scenario still required the moderate protagonist to compete in the early states, even if he didn’t win them, in order to stay in the headlines and not fade into the background. John McCain lacked Giuliani’s fundraising prowess and campaign pros, but he strode valiantly into the fight, anyway. It was a telling decision for a war hero and famously combative senator, and it worked.

Remarks. These passages pretty well capture my thoughts on Giuliani (and by extension, Thompson) and McCain. As you know, Giuliani was my first choice, although I was getting to like Thompson too. But Giuliani lacked either the judgment or the resolve to do what was needed to bring in the votes. As the Neocon says,

My candidate, Giuliani, has not fared as well as many of us would have wished for a variety of reasons; the first of which was his horrible campaign strategy to skip all of the early contests. It is what it is.

So I'm making it official here: I'm following Rudy Giuliani's lead, and transferring my endorsement to John McCain for President, 2008.