WASHINGTON -- Republican Sen. John McCain made a low-key return to Washington yesterday and crept ever so slightly toward endorsing Texas Gov. George W. Bush.
However, the Arizona senator made it plain that he's in no hurry to embrace the man who defeated him in the presidential contest.
"I think there's no doubt that I would support the nominee of the Republican Party," he said on CBS-TV last night. "How that happens and under what circumstances, the degree of enthusiasm, obviously are questions that are yet to be resolved."
McCain, just back from a post-campaign vacation in the South Pacific, spent most of the day closeted with political and legislative advisers. A reunion with his GOP colleagues, most of [See whom campaigned against him on behalf of Bush, will come today at a closed party luncheon.
"I hope this year I can get elected Miss Congeniality," McCain told reporters, repeating a joke he often makes about the strained relations that have marked his 14-year tenure in the clubby institution. "I've lost every other year, I'm hoping that this year I'll be more successful. At least runner-up."
So far, that doesn't appear likely.
Plans proposed by Bush supporters in the Senate for a festive welcome-back party were squelched by McCain allies for fear they would appear tastelessly hypocritical.
The great majority of Republican senators, who oppose McCain's efforts on campaign finance reform and have been angered by his drive to curtail pork-barrel spending, are wary of what he might do with his heightened national status.
As McCain delivers two planned floor speeches today, and conducts a follow-up news conference, other senators will be listening closely to his tone, Senate aides said.
They expect him to continue his rebellious ways, said aides, and worry that he could undermine Bush's election prospects against Vice President Al Gore, the likely Democratic nominee.
McCain said throughout the primaries that he would support the eventual nominee, a statement he repeated several times yesterday. But Bush and McCain have yet to make peace after what became a very bitter personal battle.
The Texas governor, who would like the support of independent voters attracted to the McCain campaign, appeared to set back any potential alliance when he made comments last week that seemed dismissive of McCain's reform ideas.
