Posted on Tue, Jan. 22, 2008

Supporters mobbed Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Monday at the venerable Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana, while rival Rudy Giuliani's banners were plastered across storefronts to the south and east.

The street corner's divided loyalties could be a metaphor for the Cuban-American community, expected to represent about one out of 10 voters in Florida's GOP primary on Jan. 29. After years of coalescing behind the Reagan and Bush campaigns, Cuban Americans are now divided among rival GOP camps.

Seeking to blunt McCain's narrow edge in a state that could be a springboard to the nomination, Giuliani's campaign assailed his opposition to a national insurance pool. Mitt Romney is spending the most on television advertising and has the edge in one new Florida poll, setting the stage for Cuban-American voters to resolve a muddled race.

''We're spread out. I don't think any candidate has a majority yet,'' said Francisco Penela, a McCain supporter and treasurer of the Cuban American Veterans Association. ``The community has made a difference in the past, and I think we will make a difference in this election.''

Though Giuliani and Romney stumped in central and northern parts of the state Monday, they made sure their presence was felt in Hispanic-rich Miami by airing new television ads in Spanish. Both are slated to address the influential Latin Builders Association in Miami on Friday. Mike Huckabee is also expected to make an appearance, though he seems to be retreating from Florida in favor of other southern states.

While other candidates have taken turns winning smaller states, Giuliani has placed all his bets on Florida. Taking a cue from financially strapped homeowners, he's been touting his tax-cutting record and a national fund that could lower hurricane insurance rates.

INSURANCE ISSUE

One of Giuliani's top Florida supporters quickly picked up on McCain's opposition to a national insurance pool.

''I think that on the issue of a national catastrophic fund, John McCain is out of touch with the needs of Florida voters,'' said Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, campaigning with Giuliani in the Jacksonville area. ``He doesn't understand one of the most important economic issues to this state's revitalization.''

POINTING TO FEMA

A national insurance pool has lingered on Florida's wish list due to opposition from disaster-free states. Asked about the proposal, McCain called for improving the Federal Emergency Management Agency, widely panned for its shoddy response after Hurricane Katrina.

''I do not support a national catastrophic insurance policy,'' McCain said. ``That insurance policy is there and it's called FEMA and it's called national disaster preparedness. . . . I still do not have confidence that FEMA is capable of handling all of those responsibilities.''

Responding to the criticism from the Giuliani camp, a McCain spokeswoman said proposed legislation failed to ``include private insurance reforms to broaden markets and protect against cherry-picking of individual states.''

Romney has not endorsed an insurance pool but said he would consider it.

The issue pales beside the emotionally charged embargo among Cuban Americans. All of the major candidates support economic sanctions aimed at squeezing the communist regime, but they typically try to outflank each other in Miami.

At Versailles and in an interview with Spanish-language Radio Mambí, McCain recalled his experience as a pilot aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier during the Cuban Missile crisis. He reiterated his support for Radio and TV Martí, the U.S. government-funded broadcasts to the island that critics say have little reach.

''I'll spend anything that's necessary for the cause of freedom,'' said McCain, surrounded by Miami's three Cuban-American members of Congress, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Díaz-Balart and Mario Díaz-Balart.

The absence of the Democratic candidates in Florida was keenly felt Monday, as a key constituency -- African-American voters -- participated in Martin Luther King Day celebrations across the state. Florida's decision to move up its primary without the national party's permission triggered the boycott.

ROMNEY ALONE

Romney attended a Jacksonville parade where Republican voters were scarce.

''I'm kind of shocked he's here, to be honest,'' said Minnie Smith, a Democrat who was shepherding a group of Cub Scouts toward the candidate. ``I was looking for Obama and saw Romney.''

The corporate executive and former Massachusetts governor took pictures with ROTC students dressed in uniform, shook hands with pint-size beauty queens and even burst into a brief chorus of Who Let the Dogs Out.

In a brief speech to employees at Gates Petroleum in Jacksonville, Romney promoted his economic plan and touched on national security, a key issue in an area home to many military personnel. Stressing the need to fight against a ''global violent jihad,'' Romney pledged to increase the military budget by $40 million.

Giuliani, who built a national reputation after 9/11, also called for increased military spending.

The image-conscious candidate made an impromptu stop at Daytona International Speedway.

''We want to lap our opponents,'' Giuliani said as he rubbed elbows with mechanics and drivers. ``Do you have a car here that I can get into?''

WHAT IF HE LOSES?

At a rally in Orlando, Giuliani declined to say whether he would continue campaigning if he doesn't win Florida.

He said: ``The reality is we need to win in Florida.''

While his opponents blanketed Florida, Huckabee opened and closed the day in another state: Georgia.

His Atlanta stops reflected the unorthodox nature of his Republican campaign: the Democratic stronghold of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Huckabee attended a Martin Luther King Day service.

He sat in the same pew as a fellow former Arkansas governor, Bill Clinton, and later picked up the endorsement of a group of conservative black pastors.

Huckabee's absence from Florida -- where he's not scheduled to campaign Tuesday -- suggests he is writing off the state, where opponents are out-fighting and out-spending him.

But Huckabee said reports of his political death are as exaggerated as they are old:

``We plan no Mickey Mouse operation in Florida.''

This story was reported by Miami Herald staff writers traveling with the candidates: Marc Caputo with Mike Huckabee, Oscar Corral with Rudy Giuliani, Tere Figueras Negrete with Mitt Romney and Casey Woods with John McCain.