Holding his nose, Tancredo supports McCain

Add another reluctant supporter to the list backing Republican presidential contender Sen. John McCain: Rep. Tom Tancredo.

The Colorado lawmaker, who once told a national television audience that he was "sick and tired" of having to choose between the lesser of two evils, said Thursday he'll go ahead and back his longtime immigration-reform foe because he thinks either of the Democratic alternatives would be worse.

"Sometimes I say to myself, 'Can I really do this?' " Tancredo said of supporting the Arizonan. "And then you listen to Obama or Hillary and say, 'Yeah, I have to.' "

Tancredo, a hard-line opponent of illegal immigration, launched his long-shot presidential bid, in part, because he said he wanted to stop the Republican nomination from going to McCain, the chief backer of a proposed guest-worker plan that Tancredo equated to "amnesty" for people who entered the country illegally.

They had a few verbal skirmishes on the campaign trail. And at a televised debate in Michigan in October, when McCain was still trying to get his comeback off the ground, Tancredo was asked if he would pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee no matter who it was.

"You know, I've said I don't know how many times, that I am absolutely tired and sick and tired of being forced to go to the polls and say I'm going to make this choice between the lesser of two evils. I really don't intend to do that again," he said, according to a Wall Street Journal transcript. "I am hoping, of course, that whoever we nominate will be the principled flag carrier for the Republican Party. But if that is not the case, no, then I will not support them."

Given that statement, the Rocky Mountain News in Denver this week asked Tancredo if he might back a possible Libertarian Party entrant, former GOP Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, whose voting record on immigration issues is similar to Tancredo's.

Despite Barr's immigration stands, Tancredo said he could not support him because of his foreign-policy stands, including "a blind spot on radical Islam." He added that he believes Barr's candidacy is a serious threat to Republican chances in November, because it could siphon off conservative voters who are skeptical of McCain.

Tancredo said he's not endorsing McCain, just "supporting" his general-election candidacy.

And what's the difference? "The distinction is that one implies a little more enthusiasm," Tancredo said.

If nothing else, he said, McCain has acknowledged getting the message from voters that they want U.S. borders secured and existing laws enforced before anyone considers more comprehensive immigration reform.

(E-mail M.E. Sprengelmeyer at sprengelmeyerm(at)shns.com)