KEY POINTS:
Phew. I'm all heroed out.
I'm writing this from the what's known as the Spin Room at the Ronald Reagan Library, in Simi Valley just outside Los Angeles. We've just had Rudy Giuliani and John McCain come into the room to hold a press conference to officially announce Giuliani's exit from the race and his endorsement of McCain.
The two of them said "hero" so many times to describe each other that it was hard not to notice. "You're the hero". "No, you are." "No, really, you are." And so on, you get the picture.
But I have to say, the press conference was a very slick piece of work from both Giuliani and McCain. I use the term press conference loosely, because the two of them only answered two questions at the end. Maybe I should call it a press announcement.
Both men are so good in front of camera it's amazing. They hugged, they gave each other slaps on the back, they laughed, they looked honoured when it was the right moment to look honoured. They are accomplished performers to a level that we just don't see in New Zealand. Our politicians seem a bit more homely, a little less distant. And they certainly don't have the star quality that their counterparts here do. In New Zealand, a politician is probably more likely to be ignored when he or she goes walkabout in a provincial town than mobbed by people with cameras waving placards. While it's a good experience to be in the middle of the US political scene, I think the NZ scene has a more personal feel. And that's good.
Giuliani said he will now go an campaign on behalf of McCain, doing speeches, whatever McCain wants. Or doesn't want, he added, with a laugh.
California governor and former movie muscleman Arnold Schwarzenegger has also just popped into the Spin Room to say how delighted he is to be hosting the Republican debate in his state. The Governator stopped short of endorsing anyone, but said he would be appearing with John McCain at a campaign event tomorrow. You can't help but think the Republicans are beginning to fall in behind McCain. That will make for interesting times for the really conservative wing of the party, which is likely to prefer a different candidate. Mitt Romney looks like he faces an uphill struggle next Tuesday.
