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A Capacity for Outrage
RD: You remind me of something else I wanted to ask you. George W. Bush comes in after 9/11 and has Eisenhower-level job approval ratings, longer than Ike ever did. But now this war is stalled, [Rep.] Nancy Pelosi [D., CA)] is being sworn in today as Speaker of the House, the deficit is out of control. Can the Reagan Revolution that attracted you to politics in the first place survive the Bush Presidency?McCain: Yes. I'm sure it can because I think we learned the lesson of the 2006 election. That lesson is that in 1994 we became the majority in both houses of Congress in order to change government -- and, instead, government changed us. We began to value power over principle. So voters in our base punished us because we lost our way.
I think America is still fundamentally a right-of-center nation. And not to the left of center. I think our Republican Party, and our principles and our basic tenets, are to the right of center. So I think we still have a great opportunity to clean up our act and reclaim the support of the majority of the American people. But that message has to be -- going back to Ronald Reagan -- that our best days are ahead of us, not behind us. That America's role on the world stage is going to be paramount for a long time to come, and we are just getting a little taste of what happens in the world when America is weak.
RD: I want to have a little fun with this one: Do questions about your temper, well, do they make you mad as hell?
McCain: [Laughs] There have been a lot of comments about my "temper," and I'm sure that there have been times in the past when I have made remarks that are intemperate. But I hope I will never lose my capacity to become outraged by abuses of power and misuse of the trust of the American people. When I see $233 million for a bridge to an island in Alaska with 50 people on it, I'm angry. When I see us with earmarks that go from 152 in 1984, when Ronald Reagan vetoed the highway bill, to 6,140 on a highway bill the President signed, I'm outraged. And of course I'm angry. Because we have begun to believe that it's our money. Honest to God, we believe it's our money, not theirs!
So of course I get angry, and I hope I get angry. When I see [Russian President Vladimir] Putin consolidating the old Russian empire, I get angry at what's happened in Russia. When I see [Venezuelan President] Hugo Chavez call the President of the United States all kinds of names, I get angry. So the question is, do you act just out of control or do you maintain your capacity to anger, which then makes you even more motivated to carry out the responsibilities of your oath of office?
RD: What is your response to the question that will be forthcoming: Exactly why do you want to be President?
McCain: Well, I think that with my life, and my experience, and my knowledge, it qualifies me to lead the country in very perilous times. I think that my principles and beliefs, and proven record on national security, social, and economic issues, qualify me to receive the nomination of my party and lead the American people. Again, I believe that, like Ronald Reagan, I have a core set of principles and beliefs that qualify me to make the tough decisions that are associated with the leadership of this greatest nation in the world. And I might add, as a footnote, that I am also the luckiest guy that ever, ever served this nation.
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