Romney: McCain’s Campaign Was ‘Presidential’

John McCain ran a typically “presidential” campaign, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said on NBC’s “Today” show this morning when pressed multiple times on whether or not McCain ran a “dignified” race.

“Was it dignified? It was presidential,” Romney said after pressed a third time by host Meredith Vieira. “It’s the way it’s been ever since I’ve been around–positive and negative in both directions.”

“I don’t think candidates make a lot of progress by whining about the campaign of their opponent,” the former governor continued. “Get out there, tell your message. Our message is pretty simple: Barack Obama is a charming, good fellow, but he’s not going to create jobs and keep America safe at a very critical time.”Vieira initially asked Romney if he thought McCain had run a “dignified” race in light of a Wisconsin Advertising Project study that found 79 percent of McCain’s TV ads last week were negative (compared to 63 percent for Obama) and FactCheck.org’s claims that McCain has repeatedly distorted facts in attacking Barack Obama.

Romney accused Obama of running an overwhelmingly negative campaign, with more total negative TV ads than McCain. When Vieira asked a second time, Romney said the election would come down to issues of national security and the economy.

Romney, pundits agree, ran the most negative primary campaign of any Republican seeking the GOP presidential nomination. Romney aired the first negative ads of the 2008 race with spots in Iowa attacking former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s (R) stances on immigration and John McCain’s stances on the same issue in New Hampshire.