McCain, Romney on their differences: That was then

SALT LAKE CITY — Just two months ago, Republicans John McCain and Mitt Romney were engaged in what amounted to a daily boxing match -- taking shots at each other as they battled for the presidential nomination.

To McCain, Romney was the guy who took "at least two positions on every issue," a manager rather than a leader. During their fierce primary contest in Florida, McCain demanded Romney apologize to U.S. troops for once suggesting that American and Iraqi leaders should discuss "timetables and benchmarks" for withdrawal from Iraq, which McCain charged "would have led to a victory by Al Qaeda."

Romney called McCain "dishonest" and warned that the Republican Party wasn't ready "to take as dramatic a departure from the house that Reagan built" as they would if they embraced McCain.

But no one would have guessed Thursday that the men were anything but pals as they strode from a black SUV, framed by Salt Lake City's snowy mountains, to face the cameras during a fundraising swing through the West.

The animosity had vanished -- spurring speculation that they might be able to stomach being running mates after all. McCain, with Romney standing beside him, said the two would be spending lots of time together on the campaign trail.

"I value his advice and his counsel," McCain said, speaking to reporters in the Salt Lake City airport hangar after he and Romney joined up for the first of two fundraisers. "He has earned an important place in the Republican Party. . . . We are united -- now our job is to energize our party -- and I believe that Gov. Romney can play a very important role in that."

'The right person'

Relaxed and tan after a little time off the campaign trail, Romney said McCain, whose credentials he once questioned, was ready to face the challenges of a fragile economy and the threat of violent jihadists.

The former Massachusetts governor recently told Fox News that he would be honored to be McCain's vice president. On Thursday, he said McCain was "without question the right person to be the next president of the United States."

He pledged to do whatever was necessary to convince the American people "just how important it is to have a man of integrity, experience and capacity, who's been tested time and again, to lead our great nation."