Martinez: Bush's endorsement "does matter"

Despite Democrats' efforts to paint John McCain as Bush III, Mel Martinez says President Bush's endorsement today is important to McCain as the newly minted GOP nominee tries to rally conservatives to his cause.

"President Bush is very popular among Republicans,'' Martinez, the onetime national party chair said in an MSNBC interview. And he noted that Bush has been "tremendous" in raising money for the party.

"It's a good moment for John McCain and it's a good moment for Republicans, that we have our nomination settled, that we're a reasonably united party and that we're moving forward now to try to win in November," Martinez said.

The Florida senator said he's not wading into the Democrats' delegate seating controversy.

"I'm not going to be so bold as to try to settle the Democratic seating dispute that is sure to come at the Democratic convention," he said, laughing. "But it will be fun to watch."

Though Martinez did say he believes Florida's votes should somehow count.

"It does seem to me, in fairness, that when someone votes, their vote ought to count," he said.

Earlier in the day, Martinez, the keynote speaker at a Latino Leaders Network, told reporters that he believes a GOP'er will need to secure nearly 50 percent of the Hispanic vote to take the White House.

He said candidates could take a page from President Bush, who successfully courted Hispanics by reaching out to them and talking about issues of concern to the community.

"I think it's about how you present yourself to that community. I think it's about how you campaign in that community," he said. "I think President Bush did a good job of that and I think people related to him and understood."

He called McCain "exceptional" because of his support for the comprehensive immigration reform package that failed in the Senate, earning him brickbats from conservatives.

"I think while it may lose him some points, at the end of the day he believes in a strong border, but also understands that we have to treat people with some level of compassion," Martinez said.