McCain and Romney battle over who is conservative

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney greets supporters at a rally at the Georgia Tech Hotel Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia, February 4, 2008.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney argued on Monday over who is the real conservative with their battle headed toward a Super Tuesday climax.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, sought to stir discontent among conservatives who are skeptical about Arizona Sen. McCain's record of having voted against President George W. Bush's tax cuts and his moderate views on illegal immigration.

"A lot of people said it is going to be a very easy race for Senator McCain. But across the country conservatives have come together and said, 'You know what, we don't want Senator McCain. We want a conservative to be in the White House'," Romney told supporters in Nashville.

McCain ripped Romney at a campaign rally in Hamilton, New Jersey, saying Romney presided over a "big government, mandated health care plan" as governor of Massachusetts.

McCain said he has long been in favor of cutting federal spending and is a strong proponent of facing down the challenge of Islamic extremism -- positions he said are at the heart of conservatism.

"So I'm proud of my record in the Senate as a staunch conservative," McCain said.

McCain has a lead over Romney in many states and has a chance of emerging from the Tuesday nominating contests as the presumptive Republican nominee.

But he is in a close battle with Romney in California, a big prize among the 21 states that are holding Super Tuesday contests for Republicans in their race to determine who will face the Democrats' choice in the November election.

LAST-MINUTE CHANGES

Both Romney and McCain made last-minute changes to their schedules to appear in California one more time. Romney was to hold a rally on Monday night. McCain was to go to San Diego on Tuesday afternoon.

"If I win California that means you're going to have a conservative in the White House," Romney told reporters after having breakfast with voters at the Pancake Pantry restaurant in Nashville, where he stressed his conservative credentials.

McCain made no pledges to win the state, saying he was confident he would do well across the country but that Romney had spent millions on advertising in California.

"We know it's tough. But when you look all across the East and the South and across the Midwest, we're very optimistic," he said.

While trying to placate conservatives, McCain also made clear he was seeking the votes of independent and moderate Republicans who have helped propel him to the front-running position.

"I will preserve my proud conservative credentials but I will reach across the aisle to work with the Democrats for the good of this country," he said in Boston.

In New York, he picked up the endorsement of former New York Gov. George Pataki and appeared with Democrat-turned-independent Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the presidential race last week and endorsed McCain.

(Additional reporting by Claudia Parsons)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)