Pat Dollard | Young Americans

ATLANTA - To hear John McCain talk, you’d think he already was the Republican nominee. “The first thing we’ve got to do after Tuesday is unite this party,” he says repeatedly these days—as if the 21 states holding caucuses and primaries this week are simply a formality.

He’s eager to lead the GOP against Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, calling them liberals who would surrender in Iraq. It’s a surefire way to rally Republicans and get skeptical conservatives on board with his candidacy.

McCain’s ability to beat the eventual Democratic nominee was one of his arguments as he fought his way back into the race after his campaign’s summertime unraveling. As he rose, he spent much of January mixing it up with chief GOP rival Mitt Romney—particularly before the Florida primary.

But rarely, now, after victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, does the Arizona senator even mention Romney.

Instead, with strong leads in many of the states that vote Tuesday, McCain is back to hammering the Democrats. He’s sounding more like the general election candidate and less like a primary candidate in a dogfight for the Republican nod.

“There’s no politician in Washington, particularly those that are seeking another office, that should decide when we withdraw” from Iraq, McCain said Saturday while campaigning across Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

“Senator Obama and Senator Clinton want to surrender. They want to wave the white flag. They want to set a date for withdrawal. My friends, that means surrender and I will never surrender as president of the United States!” McCain cried—eliciting cheers and hollers every place he went.

Gone was a mention of Romney, who McCain recently has lumped in with the Democrats on the question of when U.S. troops should leave Iraq.

McCain’s restraint, remarkable for a man who rarely holds his tongue, is by design.

In the runup to Super Tuesday, his advisers decided that McCain should stop snipping with Romney. Instead, McCain is trying to appear more presidential—and as the Republican most able to take on Democrats in the fall.

Thus, on Saturday, McCain essentially ignored his GOP rival and only mentioned Romney’s name when directly asked about him. Even then, he coupled his criticism with words of praise.

“I think it’s very clear that Governor Romney has changed his positions on some major issues but I respect Governor Romney and I know that he is a good family man and a good person,” McCain said in Nashville, Tenn.—and stopped there.

A day later, when McCain appeared on Sunday talk shows, he didn’t bring up Romney—and was reserved when a questioner mentioned him, simply saying: “If you look at my record and you look at Governor Romney’s record, particularly as governor of the state of Massachusetts, it’s very different. And I’m far more conservative.”

Those are the same charges McCain has made since the year began—but he voiced them in even tones and without the hostility that punctuated his comments in the week before Florida voted and, at times, during a debate Thursday.

In Simi Valley, Calif., McCain took a couple of potshots at Romney that made some supporters wince.

When Romney noted that McCain was endorsed by The New York Times, McCain shot back: “Let me note that I was endorsed by your two hometown newspapers who know you best, including the very conservative Boston Herald, who know you, well, better than anybody. So I’ll guarantee the Arizona Republic will be endorsing me, my friend.”

Accusing Romney of raising taxes as Massachusetts governor, McCain said sarcastically: “He called them ‘fees.’ I’m sure the people that had to pay it, whether they called them bananas, they still had to pay $730 million extra.”

At another point, McCain noted that Romney has run millions of dollars of negative ads against him and said: “A lot of it is your own money. You’re free to do with it what you want to. You can spend it all.”

He also mentioned Romney’s business consultant background and tightly said: “He managed companies, and he bought, and he sold, and sometimes people lost their jobs. That’s the nature of that business.” And, he assailed Romney for his equivocations, saying, “Ronald Reagan would not approve of someone who changes their positions depending on what the year is.”

But all that seemed to be behind McCain over the weekend.

In the South on Saturday, he passed up opportunities to talk about Romney—and instead focused on Obama and Clinton.

“We have profound philosophical differences. They are liberal Democrats and I am a conservative Republican, and that’s why I’m sure I can unite our party,” he told reporters. “My philosophy and my views and my record are more in tune with the American people than Senator Obama and Senator Clinton.”

He also sounded sure about his prospects Tuesday.

When a reporter noted his air of confidence, particularly for someone who is openly superstitious, McCain laughed.

“I hope I’m not too confident about Tuesday,” he said. “I’m guardedly optimistic. I think we’re doing well. I think I sense a feeling of momentum. But we’re not taking anything for granted. That’s why we’re campaigning literally 24/7 between now and Tuesday.”

Still, he added, “I assume that I will get the nomination of the party.”