WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain started feeling the heat of being the GOP White House front-runner this week as questions arose over his embrace of Jerry Falwell - a man he once labeled an "agent of intolerance."
The Arizona maverick who lost to George Bush in 2000 once criticized the conservative alliance that Bush tapped into for the win, including saying the ideas of Falwell and the Christian right wing were not good for the GOP.
But McCain recently agreed to speak at Falwell's Liberty University in what many see as a sign he's shifting to the right to win a GOP primary - much the way many say Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has tried to move to the center with her eye on 2008.
He stood by his choice yesterday after being reminded of some of Falwell's positions, such as blaming 9/11 on God's anger over "the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians."
"I believe that the Christian right has a major role to play in the Republican Party," McCain said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I met with Rev. Falwell .... We agreed to disagree on certain issues, and we agreed to move forward."
But the Democratic National Committee seized on McCain's embrace of Falwell and for some changing positions - singling out McCain for backing the extension of President Bush's tax cuts after opposing them in the first place, and for toughening his stance on abortion.
"Unfortunately, it appears that McCain's admission that he 'doesn't like to lose' is the most straight talk voters should expect from him for the next two years," said DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney.
"I think most people will judge my record exactly for what it is, where I take positions that I stand for and I believe in," McCain said on NBC. "I think most Americans will judge me by my entire record."
McCain said he would decide in 2007 whether he'll run for President.
