Politics

McCain Meets Letterman

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

June 25, 2001 / 6:35 PM EDT / CBS

Sen. John McCain spoke about President Bush, campaign reform and his own political future during an appearance Monday on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

The maverick senator was welcomed to the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York to the strains of the Chuck Berry classic "Johnny B. Goode," though McCain said he would have preferred to hear "Hail to the Chief."

Letterman introduced McCain as a decorated war hero and "one of the most popular figures in American politics."

The "Late Show" host wasted little time tweaking the Arizona Republican on his sometimes combative relationship with President Bush, with whom McCain waged a bitter battle in last year's GOP primaries.

"How's your buddy George doing?" Letterman asked.

"I think he's doing well," answered McCain. "I think he did well on his trip to Europe."

Asked whether Mr. Bush was well liked in Europe, McCain responded, "I think he's respected and that's what's important."

On the subject of Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, whose defection from the GOP cost the party control of the U.S. Senate, McCain said, "I think Republicans should worry. We can't be a regional party. We have to be a big tent."

He said he liked and respected Sen. Jeffords, and added that "My hero is Teddy Roosevelt, and he left the Republican Party for the Bull Moose Party." But when asked if he would follow Jeffords out of the GOP, McCain answered, "No."

Earlier Monday, McCain's campaign reform agenda won a key victory when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Watergate-era spending limits on political parties. McCain told Letterman the campaign reform legislation he's co-sponsoring with Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold was needed to get special interests out of politics once and for all.

"When you're selling a ticket to a fund-raiser for $500,000, do you think the guy's interested in good government?" McCain said.

Discussing his experiences in Vietnam, where he spent over five years as a prisoner of war, McCain joked, "It doesn't take a lot of talent to get shot down. I was able to get intercepted by a surface-to-air missile with my airplane."

But he was more serious when asked to comment on fellow Vietnam veteran and former Sen. Bob Kerrey's recent revelations about participating in war atrocities.

"Bob Kerrey is a wonderful, brave American and a man who served his country with distinction… That's more or as much as you can ask of any American citizen."