Romney Seeks Key Beltway Endorsements

By Mike Hothi

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is in Washington today in an effort to secure key endorsements from Republicans in Congress.

Multiple news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, have reported that the GOP frontrunner is participating in a series of events in and around Capitol Hill to raise money and persuade lawmakers into backing his campaign.

On Tuesday night, Romney met with Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R-Va.) for several fundraisers in Northern Virginia. McDonnell has not endorsed a candidate but his appearance at the event raised eyebrows.

Romney began his day today with a breakfast held at the American Trucking Association, in an event co-hosted by a slew of prominent DC lobbyists and lawmakers that have endorsed him.

Later, the former governor of Massachusetts is to attend an event at the Republican National Committee headquarters that will be headlined by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Other attendees include GOP candidates Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.

Romney’s trip comes as some conservative Republicans have cozied up to the idea of a Romney candidacy. The Times noted that Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and 23 other House members along with four Senators have already endorsed him for President.

However, Romney is currently lacking endorsements from legislators in early battleground states like Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina.

McCain Urges Quick Action On Plan For More Troops In Afghanistan

By Julianne LaJeunesse - University of New Mexico

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spoke Tuesday about American international policies in a conference hosted by the Foreign Policy Initiative, an organization that rejects U.S. policies "that would lead us down the path of isolation."

During a speech entitled, "Advancing and Defending Democracy," McCain said that President Obama is admirable for keeping his composure during intensifying U.S. international commitments, but added that he disagreed with the President's recent decision to scrap its plans for a European missile defense shield. Said McCain, America should maintain loyalties to people and plans.

When asked by moderator and Foreign Policy Initiative Founder Bob Kagan about the time it's taking to implement a military plan in Afghanistan, McCain said the longer it takes to get troops there, the more strapped the plan becomes.

"You make a decision to do something, for example, to deploy troops... it takes a period of time before you get them over there," McCain said. "It's not a matter of just putting them on a plane and flying them over. There's all of the equipment, all of the preparations, all of the things necessary for deployment of troops. So even if the President made the decision tomorrow, there would be a period of time where we still don't have sufficient troops to do what's necessary there."

McCain said troops in Afghanistan are necessary because "at least some of Americans may have forgotten that it was Afghanistan where Al Qaeda really received the training in order to orchestrate the attacks on United States of America on 9/11."

The senator said that America's sympathy for troop deployment in Aghanistan is waning and that Obama may have to follow previous leaders who have "gone against the majority of public opinion, either in their party or the country, because they were in times of crisis and they knew that they had to take certain actions."

McCain also commented on the Obama administration's recent system technology change from a planned "antiballistic missile shield" to a smaller SM-3 interceptor system in the Czech Republic and Poland, which he said was "technically correct," but added that "the handling of this issue is very harmful."