McCain Defends Health, Campaign Tactics

The Early Show: GOP Nominee Also Addresses Economy, Sarah Palin In Exclusive Interview With Harry Smith

(CBS)  Republican presidential nominee John McCain sat down Monday in St. Louis with Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. In the exclusive interview, McCain talked about the economy, Sarah Palin, his health and criticism of campaign tactics such a robo calls linking Barack Obama with Bill Ayers, as well as supporters who say they are moving towards Obama because of the negativity of his campaign.

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John McCain: Well I think that whatever is on peoples' minds is valid, but, the thing that's intriguing about it, Senator Obama has spent more money on negative attack ads than any political presidential campaign in history, in history.

Harry Smith: Even Sarah Palin has come out and said she would prefer that the robo calls stop. Your robo calls.

McCain: Well Sarah is a maverick. That robo call is exactly accurate. And by the way, Sen. Obama's campaign is running robo calls as we speak... I'm sure Sarah and I have disagreed on some issues. You know… to think that somehow we are saying something not true in those calls is absolutely false.

He was friends with a terrorist and his wife, he was. And we need to know the full relationship.

Smith: Your own people have said, "Well if it's about the economy, that's not an - that's not an argument that I can win with."

McCain: That's simply not true. That's simply not true… We've been focusing on the economy... Listen to me, I'm the candidate. And this - this campaign is about the economy.

Smith: A lot of Republican pundits have said, in the last couple of weeks, have said that your choice of Sarah Palin has been a disaster, If in fact you found out that her candidacy cost you the election, would you still say that it was the right choice?

McCain: Harry, look. Come to one of the rallies with me. You'll see the ignition out there, and the passion, and the incredible intensity out there for Sarah Palin.

If someone thinks that somehow she was unqualified, that's their opinion, but that doesn't stack up on paper. I mean the most popular governor in America, I'm proud to have. And I think she and her husband and her family are just wonderful.

Smith: Can you reassure the American people right now that your health is what it needs to be in order to take office, and not be concerned that it will become a factor, should you become president of the United States.

McCain: Have you seen me in the last two years? Twenty-four seven, out there, day after day doing the grind. I hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim a couple of summers ago with my son. I'll listen. I'll invite any of the people who are reporting on that to come out and stick with me and hang with me on the trail.

Smith: It's very interesting to watch you at the Al Smith dinner the other night. And some people said, "That's the John McCain… what you're giving me the …

McCain: I've heard that too.

Smith: [They're saying] "…That's the John McCain I know, that's the John McCain that we like so much from the past." Are there different John McCains? Are there different aspects of your personality?

(Read more about McCain and Obama making jokes at the Al Smith dinner last week.)

McCain: I'm a pretty good stand up comic. But times are too serious for stand up comedy. This is serious business. And there are real issues here, and there's real problems out there. Somebody who's about to lose their home probably might enjoy that routine at the Al Smith dinner, but that's not what they wanna hear from me on the campaign trail.

Smith is scheduled to interview Obama on Wednesday in Richmond, Va. That interview will be broadcast the following morning on The Early Show.

[wjwathen]

McCain says that he is in good health and shouldn''t or won''t release his medical records because he is a good hiker? Wow! My wife ran a 10K race shortly after she completed chemo for ovarian cancer. But I do believe she would release her medical records if you was running for any office. Both McCain and Palin are putting the country at more risk and we are already from the Bush/McCain years.

Wayne Wathen

[newslink]

Do this Man Not understand? People are at these rallies, to see this woman put her foot in her mouth. I am concerned about MCcain''s Judgement. Its Scary...

[dan_da_ban3]

hey, can anybody help me out. i keep getting banned on this site by cbs because i dont fall in line with thier bs political stance. im tired of creating new profiles everytime they stop me. does anyone have suggestions how to get around it. i tried one i saw posted a couple of weeks ago but it didnt work. any suggestions?

[velma179]

I sure hope that everybody who is posting is also voting (or already has...)

I look forward to knowing we had the largest percentage of the electorate actually electing in 2008.

A vote. It''s the only poll that really counts.

[underbear1]

Being so SICK of Joe the Plumber and Tito the WHATEVER
here''s my response

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1210139/BobTheLoser.jpg

Bob the LOSER

actually "Sarah the Whatever" might be a good tag on Nov 5th

[xraydude2000]

I don''t understand McCain and Palin implying that Obama is a socialist and how bad that is.

Didn''t McCain just engage in a socialist act by voting for the bailout? Isn''t that a redistribution of wealth?

The only difference is that it''s being distributed to the wealthy. I guess McCain doesn''t have a problem with that.

Isn''t buying every bad mortgage using our tax dollars a redistribution of wealth? (McCain''s economic proposal)

Palin gave out $1200 checks to everyone in Alaska. They didn''t work for it or do anything for it. She just felt that it would help the people of Alaska. Isn''t this a redistribution of wealth?

Aren''t these all examples of socialism?

WASN''T JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES SOCIALISTS?

"... go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven..." MATTHEW 19:21

"And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need." ACTS 2:45

"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold. And laid them down at the apostle''s feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." ACTS 4:34,35

If these aren''t examples of socialism, please explain to me what is.

[xraydude2000]

I don''t understand McCain and Palin implying that Obama is a socialist and how bad that is.

Didn''t McCain just engage in a socialist act by voting for the bailout? Isn''t that a redistribution of wealth?

The only difference is that it''s being distributed to the wealthy. I guess McCain doesn''t have a problem with that.

Isn''t buying every bad mortgage using our tax dollars a redistribution of wealth? (McCain''s economic proposal)

Palin gave out $1200 checks to everyone in Alaska. They didn''t work for it or do anything for it. She just felt that it would help the people of Alaska. Isn''t this a redistribution of wealth?

Aren''t these all examples of socialism?

WASN''T JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES SOCIALISTS?

"... go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven..." MATTHEW 19:21

"And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need." ACTS 2:45

"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold. And laid them down at the apostle''s feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." ACTS 4:34,35

If these aren''t examples of socialism, please explain to me what is.

[chavez2x]

I ain''t got no shins and I ain''t Bush."

McCain is worse than Bush. Bush from Texas, goes on and on about immigration and securing our borders. While McCain pushed hard to build a wall and voted against a day honoring MLK. That and his known hatred of Vietnam and North Korea. I''m half Korean and a son of an Army Officer. But I''ve come to use the phrase "No habla espaniol, yo soy Coreano. La immigra?!" as a response to every white employer asking me if I speak it while in the midst of stereotypical jokes. Some do believe and some take advantage but, the reality is republicans use race to distract from the effects of Reaganomics.
How does giving tax break to oil barons in the midst of record breaking profits help us? What happened to "I don''t negotiate with terrorist." Reaganomics is already a pyramid scheme without McCain making it worse. While minimum wage outlasts the half-life of a dollar. All us 1x or 5x (min. wage = x) employees pay more for a Ford than they do for a Ferrari. At least Ford is american even if they do file bancruptcy every 7 years as a negotiating tactic with unions. Ten percent from sales and another 80 for financing. Parts made in Mexico don''t count.
It''s a shame if Hank Hills vote for his dad. But a bigger shame if it works.

Hockey players get paid less because of all the illegal Canadian immigrants. "Born in East L.A." was written a long time ago. While Canadian borders don''t even have speed bumps.

[chavez2x]

"I ain''t got no shins."

[oo_daddy]

Polls are inaccurate, what is significant is the movement at this late date. #1 Obama now has momentum. But B) I think it''s an indicator (look it up). I think we''re seeing the Colin Powell effect. At least as important is the role of Rush limbaugh. He declared war on Powell''s army. Fat boy should have kept his mouth shut. I hate bthe name calling but having been military leader I''m very good at it.

[oo_daddy]

COLIN POWELL''S ENDORSEMENT HAS CLEARLY MOVED THE POLLS

Thank you General Powell !!!!

[forthinvader]

You Liberal Self-Hating Whities are funny knocking the Conservative Right-Wing "Racist" Whities. Obama will set both of you Whitey Groups straight. You will pay out of your Jew and Gentile noses for the Slavery you inflicted on the Black Nation of America. You should watch John Trevolta''''s movie "Whiteman''''s Burden" to see how your Whitey lives will be like in Black America come 2009. CHANGE IS COMING!!!!

[letreasonwin]

Here''s how well McCain''s tactics work according to FiveThirtyEight.com

After some incremental improvements by John McCain over the course of the past week, we are now looking once again a handful of polls showing Barack Obama with a double-digit lead -- most dramatically his 14-point advantage in the latest Pew poll. Obama also gained ground in the aggregate of the national trackers, which showed four Obama gains (Zogby, Gallup, Pew, IBD/TIPP), one McCain gain (Battleground), and three pushes (Rasmussen, Research 2000, ABC/Post).

What we may have witnessed is some sort of dead cat bounce for John McCain. One possibility is that, as more voters are taking advantage of early voting windows across the country, the pollsters are finding that some voters whom they considered "unlikely" voters have in fact turned out to vote. Zogby gives Obama a 21-point lead nationwide among people who have already voted, and SurveyUSA and Civitas peg his advantage among early voters in North Carolina at around 20 and 30 points, respectively.

[achangenow]

McCain''s is a fool. A simple, lying old fool who won''t admit he''s playing a game he cannot win. It''s about the economy, my A**! His campaign is about smear and fear and I believe the majority of voters are sick & tired of it! What about all the corrupt people he''s associated with, including Mr. Keating of the Savings and Loan scandal! What about his affair with Cindy while still married? What about him finishing almost dead last in his class?
See, these issues could be brought up by the Obama campaign. The only thing is, these character smear tactics don''t address the country''s concerns (THE ECONOMY!), do they? The McCain campaign continues to insult our intelligence the same way Bush has (he does have former Bush campaign people running the show) and he''s going to pay dearly for these mistakes come Nov 4!!

[letreasonwin]

Is this the party that promises to curb government spending????

RNC appears to shell out $150K for Palin fashion

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14805.html


Palin Children Traveled On Alaska''s Dime

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/21/politics/main4537742.shtml?tag=topStories;secondStory

[tannerbird]

There is nothing to defend he will wipe it out.

[tannerbird]

Danaac lets have the goverement pick up the iou''s from Social Security first it had plenty of money until the goverment got into it and borrowed money that they never paid back.

[tannerbird]

Yes lets all *** in a tube [and yell go Sarah go].

[tannerbird]

Anyone that votes for McCain needs to check with there srink. He is voting for Obama he knows if he votes for old John no one will have any insurance and no money.

[danaac]

Electoral votes and who ultimately gets them are decided by our votes, Dimwit.


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Posted by harbinger09 at 06:57 PM : Oct 21, 2008
+ report abuse

True to an extent in as much as our votes choose who will represent us but delegates are not bound by popular vote, and who elects the "Superdelegates"