McCain Throws Bush A Bone

John McCain is giving former GOP presidential primary rival George W. Bush six of the Michigan delegates he won and has similar deals or is close to agreement in several New England states.

The deal reached Thursday in Michigan allows Gov. John Engler to attend the National Republican Convention as a Bush delegate and is the latest move toward GOP reconciliation after the divisive primary contest.

McCain agreed to give Bush six delegates - adding to the six the Texas governor won in the Feb. 22 Michigan primary - and leaving the Arizona senator with 46 of the state's 58.

The McCain camp said delegate agreements also had been reached or were close in New England states where the senator won primaries, including Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont and Massachusetts.

In Michigan, McCain won 51 percent of the vote to 43 for Bush, largely on the strength of independent and Democratic voters who supported him in the open primary. But he couldn't sustain his momentum two weeks later in the March 7 Super Tuesday primaries and suspended his campaign.

"This is a commonsense solution," Engler said Thursday. "It puts Governor Bush back on track to win Michigan in November, and that's the bottom line."