Our Interview with Sen. John McCain (page 2 of 5)

Security Is Paramount

RD: Some people thought Reagan would have made a better Presidential candidate in '68 when he ran the first time, or even in 1976. Do you think people someday will say, "Oh, too bad McCain didn't get elected in 2000. He was too old by 2008."
McCain: One of the aspects of Presidential politics is that a lot of times, the second time around people succeed. I think that has something to do with the learning experience of a Presidential campaign. We took off in 2000 -- if I may use the old term -- on a wing and a prayer. "Everybody on the bus, and let's go!" And we didn't have the political and financial base to absorb any losses.

The reason I lost to President Bush was because he had a better organization, better financial base, better political support and he ran a better campaign. Those usually win. But I learned a great deal from that experience: The importance of having a very persuasive agenda, and the importance of having a political and a financial base. And certainly things have changed since 2000. In 2000, like most elections in peacetime, the election was basically about the economy. You can look at previous elections in peacetime and you can tell whether the incumbent party was going to win or not based on economic data. That's all changed since 9/11. Now the primary and very appropriately overriding issue is national security, for which I may pay a high price because of my support and belief that we have to prevail in Iraq.

I harbor ambitions to be President of the United States. Those ambitions pale in comparison to my view that America's national security is paramount, and I have to do what I think is right when it comes to that, even if it costs me my entire political career.

RD: A hypothetical question: You have said it's critical we win in Iraq, but also that we aren't structured to win and that it's immoral to have kids over there dying. Could you foresee the possibility of saying, a year from now, "Well, we're either there to win it or get the rest of them out?"
McCain: You could say that, but there's one huge caveat -- I know we would be dooming Iraq to chaos. I feel we are at a critical time, and this is perhaps our last chance to get the situation under control: to go in with proper force and stabilize the situation so that political and economic development can take place. There can be no economic and political process if there is no security.

There can't be a time limit! Now I would hope that in a relatively brief period of time we would be showing progress and that would lead to more confidence on the part of the American people. But to say we're gonna do this for six months and then we're going home -- the bad guys would just lay back for six months. There's no incident in history where a nation has committed itself to a conflict and said after a certain calendar date we're not going to be involved anymore.

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When it comes to Election Day, what kind of research do you do on candidates?

In-depth: I review their voting records, watch the debates they're in, and research their background Moderate: I read what the experts write about them in the papers and know where they stand on the major issues Minimal: All I know about them is what I see in their campaign ads

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