"I don’t think the government can rescue the industry,” Carly Fiorina, former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Corp, told Reuters at an event in suburban Detroit.”Whatever the government does, it should not take away the fundamentals of risk-taking. Sometimes it leads to rewards and sometimes consequences, downside,” she said. “In other words, the auto industry cannot be saved from its own bad bets."

"Frankly I just don’t see a scenario where the federal government would come in and bail out any industry in America today."

"Let’s get the $25 billion to them to start with and see how that goes."

Q: "We’re finding out that there may be a possibility of some sort of bail-out or government assistance for the auto industry. Would that be something that you would support?"

MCCAIN: "Well, we’ve already done that to $25 billion, and we’ve delayed getting them the money. I would do whatever I think needs to be done to help our automotive industry. We’ve got to make this transition to flex fuel, battery powered, hydrogen automobiles. And, obviously — and, also, I would provide tax credits for people who buy these new automobiles. We’ve got to keep this industry alive. There’s no doubt about that."

McCain: " Well, that’s spreading the wealth in the respect that we do have a graduated income tax. That’s a far cry from taking from one group of Americans and giving to another. I mean, that’s dramatically different."
(...)

King: "Doesn't [sic] taxes pay for services?"

McCain: "Taxes pay for 'services'... Taxes pay to keep our government secure, to help those who can’t help themselves and other functions of government."

"Joe’s with us today. Joe, where are you? Where is Joe? Is Joe here with us today? Joe, I thought you were here today."

"So the point is, yes, a society and government takes care of citizens who need our help. That’s what America is all about."

"And next to him is a person well known to most Americans, Meg Whitman, the founder of EBay. I often like to repeat, 12 years ago, there was five employees, and now 1.3 million people around the globe making a living off of EBay."

"They [small business owners] feel that what they need is lower taxes and less government regulation of their business"

"You’ll have to tell me what’s changed. I love it when they say, “Oh McCain has changed.” And I say, “What have I changed on?” They can’t name a single issue or they’ll name an issue and its false. I’m the same guy. I’m proud of our campaign. "

"At least in Europe, the Socialist leaders who so admire my opponent are upfront about their objectives," McCain said in a radio address. "They use real numbers and honest language. And we should demand equal candor from Sen. Obama. Raising taxes on some in order to give checks to others is not a tax cut; it's just another government giveaway."

"When it comes to taxes, you have a real choice on Nov. 4th. It's not negative, not mean-spirited... He's (Obama is) hiding his real agenda of redistributing your money."

At an October 2000 town hall on MSNBC’s Hardball, an audience member asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) about why the rich pay higher taxes than the middle class. McCain defended progressive taxation, stating, “I think it’s to some degree because we feel, obviously, that wealthy people can afford more”:

[T]he very wealthy, because they can afford tax lawyers and all kinds of loopholes, really don’t pay nearly as much as you think they do when you just look at the percentages. […]

So, look, here’s what I really believe, that when you are — reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more. … And frankly, I think the first people who deserve a tax cut are working Americans with children that need to educate their children, and they’re the ones that I would support tax cuts for first.

"There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area."

Host Chris Wallace: "Do you think that Senator Obama is a socialist? Do you think that his plans are socialism?"

McCAIN: "I think his plans are redistribution of the wealth. He said it himself, "We need to spread the wealth around." Now, that's one of..."

WALLACE: "Is that socialism?"

McCAIN: "That's one of the tenets of socialism. But it's more the liberal left, which he's always been on. He's always been in the left lane of American politics."

WALLACE: "But, Senator, when we talk..."

McCAIN: "So is one of the tenets of socialism redistribution of the wealth? Not just socialism — a lot of other liberal and left wing philosophies — redistribution of the wealth? I don't believe in it. I believe in wealth creation by Joe the Plumber."

"You need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. capital, the Pentagon, a judges home, and killed Americans."

“I’m proud of you, I’m proud of your family.” “It’s always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon, and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great.”

"The next President won’t have time to get used to the office. He won’t have the luxury of studying up on the issues before he acts."

– “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/26/05]

– “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should…I’ve got Greenspan’s book.” [Boston Globe, 12/18/07]

– “In the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t pay nearly the attention to those issues in the past…I was probably a ’supply-sider’ based on the fact that I really didn’t jump into the issue.” [The New Republic, 1/31/00

In fact, there is no $40 billion dollar pipeline from Alaska bringing natural gas to the lower 48 states. As the New York Times explained last month, “the pipeline exists only on paper” —

“The saddest thing about this is that `My Hero’ was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential,” the band said in a statement. “To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song.”

- at the conclusion of the GOP convention, Sen. McCain’s campaign blasted the song “Barracuda” by Heart. The tune is meant to be a theme song for Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), whose high school nickname was reportedly “Sarah Barracuda.” Heart’s representative issued the following statement:

"The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission. We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored."

– In August, singer Jackson Browne sued the McCain campaign and the Ohio Republican Party for copyright infringement because his song “Running on Empty” was used in an ad by the state party. Browne’s lawyers said that “McCain and his campaign were well aware of” this fact

.– In August, the McCain campaign re-cut a web ad after comedian Mike Myers’s publicist complained about the use of footage of Myers and fellow Saturday Night Live alum Dana Carvey’s “Wayne’s World” characters

.– In July, the McCain campaign had to pull and re-cut a web ad after Frankie Valli’s record label, the Warner Music Group, asserted its copyright claims over the use of the song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”.

– Earlier this year, the copyright owners for the “Rocky” theme song “telephoned the McCain campaign" to politely complain it was being used without permission.

"Some Americans bought homes they couldn't afford, betting that rising prices would make it easier to refinance later at more affordable rates," he said. Later he added that "any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who were irresponsible at the expense of those who weren't."

"I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated."

"The issue of economics is something that I've really never understood as well as I should. I understand the basics, the fundamentals, the vision, all that kind of stuff,'' he said. "But I would like to have someone I'm close to that really is a good strong economist. As long as Alan Greenspan is around I would certainly use him for advice and counsel."

McCAIN: "I do not comment on the media treatment of me or Sarah. Complaining about something we are doing voluntarily that we want to do and get done I think would just not be productive. […] But I do not complain about the media and I will not complain because that’s not appropriate for me to do so and frankly it doesn’t do me any good if I did."

McCAIN: "And by the way, whatever misinterpretation there may have been, I will not and have never supported renegotiating the Colorado River Compact. … Never, Never would I support a renegotiation of the Colorado River Compact. Please. No. Got it?"

McCAIN: "I don’t think there’s any doubt the major, major issue is water and can be as important as oil. So the compact that is in effect, obviously, needs to be renegotiated over time amongst the interested parties."

"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator."

"I just want to make a comment about the obvious issue and that is the failure of Congress to act yesterday. Its just not acceptable. […] This is just a not acceptable situation. I’m not saying this is the perfect answer. If I were dictator, which I always aspire to be, I would write it a little bit differently."

[A]pproached by a man wearing a Temple University t-shirt, who later identified himself as Michael Rovito, Palin was asked:

“How about the Pakistan situation? What’s your thoughts about that.”

“In Pakistan?” Palin responded.

“What’s going on over there, like Waziristian?”

“It’s working with Zardari to make sure that we’re all working together to stop the guys from coming in over the border,” Palin said. “And we’ll go from there.”

“Waziristan is blowing up,” Rovito replied.

“Yeah, it is,” Palin said. “And the economy there is blowing up, too.”

“So we do cross-border, like from Afghanistan to Pakistan, you think?” Rovito asked.

“If that’s what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should,” Palin said.

October 2001, on CNN:

PAULA ZAHN: And as you know, Senator, the U.S. and Great Britain notified the U.N. Security Council yesterday that they reserve the right to strike against other countries in this campaign. What countries are we looking at?

McCAIN: Well, I think very obviously Iraq is the first country, but there are others — Syria, Iran, the Sudan, who have continued to harbor terrorist organizations and actually assist them.

October 2001, on the Late Show with David Letterman:

LETTERMAN: How are things going in Afghanistan now?

McCAIN: I think we’re doing fine …. I think we’ll do fine. The second phase — if I could just make one, very quickly — the second phase is Iraq.

January 2002, on the deck of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt:

McCAIN: Next up, Baghdad!

"By the way, on Friday night, did you ever hear the word victory from Senator Obama?"

CROWD: No!

McCAIN: My friends, if we continue this surge under this great general, we will come home – and our troops will come home – with victory and honor. And not in defeat.

"Actually, my position is that it will be, it will give people actually more money to go out and purchase tax - health insurance on their own and only those with the Cadillac gold-plated health insurance policies today are the ones who might suffer from it."

The New York Times reports that McCain aides “released a list of people they said Mr. McCain had called from his campaign headquarters on Saturday.” Among them were:

President Bush
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO)

The list included “nine House Republicans.” No Democrats were listed. Senator McCain's only interaction with Democrats was during the bipartisan meeting at the White House on Thursday. During that meeting, McCain “played a shockingly passive role,” sitting silently for 40 minutes, and refusing to discuss his position on the bailout.

"Sen. John McCain said that if he were president, he would fire SEC Chairman Chris Cox for his “betrayal of trust” leading up to this week’s financial market crisis."

"Tuve la sensacion de que McCain no sabia de quien le estaba hablando."

(translation: "I had the feeling that McCain didn't know what he was talking about.")

"No, I do not believe that the American taxpayer should be on the hook for AIG and I’m glad that the Secretary Paulson has apparently taken the same line."

"I didn’t want to do that. And I don’t think anybody I know wanted to do that. But there are literally millions of people whose retirement, whose investment, whose insurance were at risk here. They were going to have their lives destroyed because of the greed and excess and corruption."

During a speech in Tampa today, John McCain demonstrated again that the economy is not something he understands as well as he should. He twice incorrectly referred to the “SPIC,” when intending to refer to the SIPC (the Securities Investor Protection Corporation) — a corporation that “return[s] customers’ cash, stock and other securities” if a brokerage goes bankrupt.

With regard to the current economic crisis, the McCain campaign is now arguing for “strong regulatory oversight of Wall Street.” McCain, however, has long held that he is “fundamentally a deregulator.” As he told the Wall Street Journal in March:

I’m always for less regulation. But I am aware of the view that there is a need for government oversight. … But I am a fundamentally a deregulator. I’d like to see a lot of the unnecessary government regulations eliminated.

"Of course I don’t like excessive and unnecessary regu — uh, government regulation."

– Though Palin did reduce Alaska’s earmark requests, “in her two years in office, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation.”

FIORINA: Sarah Palin as governor stood up and said, I know earmarks are corrupting. We must ask for less of them–

STEPHANOPOLOUS: But she still requested them.

FIORINA: As governor she did not. […]

"I have had a strong and a long relationship on national security, I've been involved in every national crisis that this nation has faced since Beirut, I understand the issues, I understand and appreciate the enormity of the challenge we face from radical Islamic extremism.

I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training.

I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time. For 20-some years, including leading the largest squadron in the United States Navy, I led. I didn't manage for profit, I led for patriotism."

"Balance the budget requires slowing outlay growth to 2.4 percent. The roughly $470 billion dollars (by 2013) in slower spending growth come from reduced deployments abroad ($150 billion; consistent with success in Iraq/Afghanistan that permits deployments to be cut by half — hopefully more), slower discretionary spending in non-defense and Pentagon procurements ($160 billion; there are lots of procurements — airborne laser, Globemaster, Future Combat System — that should be ended and the entire Pentagon budget should be scrubbed)."

"It's not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether it be big banks or small borrowers."

"John McCain supports the steps needed to keep the financial troubles at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from further squeezing American families..."

Asked whether the Fed went too far in helping Bear Stearns, McCain said: "It's a close call, but I don't think so."He said he doesn't support federal bailouts unless there otherwise would be catastrophic effects on the financial marketplace. He said there were indications a Bear Stearns failure would have rippled across the economy.

Three times in recent years, McCain's catalogs of "objectionable" spending have included earmarks for this small Alaska town, requested by its mayor at the time -- Sarah Palin.

[...]

In 2001, McCain's list of spending that had been approved without the normal budget scrutiny included a $500,000 earmark for a public transportation project in Wasilla. The Arizona senator targeted $1 million in a 2002 spending bill for an emergency communications center in town -- one that local law enforcement has said is redundant and creates confusion. McCain also criticized $450,000 set aside for an agricultural processing facility in Wasilla that was requested during Palin's tenure as mayor and cleared Congress soon after she left office in 2002. The funding was provided to help direct locally grown produce to schools, prisons and other government institutions, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group. Wasilla received $11.9 million in earmarks from 2000 to 2003. The results of this spending are very apparent today. (The town also benefited from $15 million in federal funds to promote regional rail transportation.)

"Former officials of Sen. John McCain’s 2000 campaign expressed shock and disbelief Monday to learn than the GOP presidential nominee had hired South Carolina political consultant Tucker Eskew.

Eskew, along with Warren Tompkins and Neal Rhodes, were key members of then-Gov. George W. Bush’s South Carolina team during the 2000 primaries. McCain and his team long held Bush, Tompkins, Rhodes and Eskew responsible for the various smears against McCain and his family in the Palmetto state during that contentious contest. […] Asked if the McCain campaign would have a comment about hiring one of the South Carolina strategists the senator and his 2000 campaign team once held responsible for smears against him, McCain 2008 spokesman Brian Rogers emailed, “No."

On ABC’s This Week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) similarly argued that Palin is a reformer because she supposedly said, “I’m not going to build a Bridge to Nowhere.” This Week host George Stephanopoulos pointed out that Graham’s claim is false:

"Over the opposition of oil companies, Republican Gov. Sarah Palin and Alaska's Legislature last year approved a major increase in taxes on the oil industry — a step that has generated stunning new wealth for the state as oil prices soared."

McCain dismisses any claims that he’s changed positions, telling the AP “in all due respect” that his former colleagues are “drinking the Kool-Aid“:

“In all due respect to my colleagues,” he says, “They’re drinking the Kool-Aid that somehow I have changed positions on the issues. All I can say is that we all grow. We all grow wiser. And we all refine our positions.”

In an August 2003 meeting with Rumsfeld, McCain “made a very passionate case that we need to look at adding more troops,” according to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). But in a note from Rumsfeld just after meeting, McCain reportedly told Rumsfeld, “the answer may not be more troops in Iraq“:

Moreover, while ordinary Americans are struggling to keep the one house they own, McCain has a record of denying assistance to homeowners, having voted against mortgage protections and other steps to help consumers fight unfair credit terms.

"(...) Leaving his shovel on the ground, he slowly walked to a crude bench and sat down. He knew that at any moment a guard would order him to stand up, and when he failed to respond, the guard would beat him to death, probably with his own shovel. He had seen it happen to other prisoners.

    As he waited, head down, he felt a presence. Slowly he looked up and saw a skinny old prisoner squat down beside him. The man said nothing. Instead, he used a stick to trace in the dirt the sign of the Cross. The man then got back up and returned to his work.

    As Solzhenitsyn stared at the Cross drawn in the dirt his entire perspective changed. (...)"

"John McCain told reporters today [Aug 13] that he does not want the hostile attacks of Russia on its neighboring country Georgia to be politicized in this campaign, despite the fact that his members of his campaign have been doing so this week. Asked about criticisms by Barack Obama's campaign saying he was being “belligerent and aggressive” toward Russia, McCain replied, “This isn't a time for partisanship and sniping between campaigns. This is about hundreds if not thousands of innocent people whose lives are being taken or they are being rendered homeless, wounded. This is not time for that to start with."

Scheunemann told reporters, “I think the first major speech (McCain) gave expressing concerns about Russian policies in former Warsaw Pact or former Soviet Pact was in 1993. I don’t know when the first statement Senator Obama might have given about Russia when he started issuing statements on Russia. So there’s a depth of knowledge, a breadth of knowledge and an extent of historical experience that doesn’t compare between the two on Russian policy.”

“You can’t compare a 15-year historical record with three or four statements over the course of fifteen months,” he added.

Yesterday in Teaneck, N.J., Lieberman criticized Obama to a group of fundraisers, saying, “If you read the statements from the beginning, Senator McCain and Senator Obama, one had kind of moral neutrality to it, that comes I think from inexperience. The other, Senator McCain, was strong and clear and principled and put America where America always wants to be.”

When reporters pointed out Lieberman’s statement to McCain, who was standing next to Lieberman during today's press conference, McCain gave a response that left some confused.

“Well, let me respond by, by just saying that, I think that whatever we think at the moment, that we can all reserve that for a future time. And I think judgments will be made about how we handled that situation, how we approached the situation in Iraq, and how much experience and knowledge and background means in selecting the American people’s decision as to who should be the next commander in chief. And so all I can say is there will be plenty of time for that.”

Lieberman remained silent during the press conference.

"The picture I will lay out for you today is not a pretty one and it’s getting worse with the passage of time. [...] Continuing on our current fiscal path would gradually erode, if not suddenly damage, our economy, our standard of living, and ultimately even our domestic tranquility and our national security. [...] balancing the budget in [sic] 2040 could require actions as large as cutting total federal spending by 60 percent or raising federal taxes to 2 times today’s level."

McCain: "Yesterday, he [Obama] suggested we put air in our tires to save on gas. My friends, let’s do that. But do you think that’s enough to break our dependence on Middle Eastern oil? I don’t think so."

"We can do that [decrease our dependence] as a nation. We can turned out [sic] the lights five minutes earlier. We don't have to drive the extra block."

OBAMA: "[They say:] You know, 'He's not patriotic enough. He's got a funny name.' You know, 'He doesn't look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills.'"

"I believe that, when he [Obama] said that we had to leave Iraq, and we had to be out by last March, and we had to have a date certain, that was in contravention to — and still is — the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General David Petraeus."

“I would rather speak at a rally or a political gathering any place outside of the country after I am president of the United States,” McCain told O’Donnell. “But that’s a judgment that Sen. Obama and the American people will make.”

"McCain himself gave a speech in Canada — to the Economic Club of Canada — in which he applauded NAFTA’s successes. An implicit message behind that speech was that Obama had been critical of the trade accord."

"Couric QUESTION #3: Senator McCain, Sen. Obama says, while the increased number of U.S. troops contributed to increased security in Iraq, he also credits the Sunni awakening and the Shiite government going after militias. And says that there might have been improved security even without the surge. What’s your response to that?"

McCain (edited portion): "I don’t know how you respond to something that is such a false depiction of what actually happened. Colonel McFarlane (phonetic) was contacted by one of the major Sunni sheiks. Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others." (the full response can be seen in the linked video.)

"In early 2000, then-Gov. George W. Bush told Roger Simon, then with U.S. News & World Report, that he was befuddled by how soft the media was on Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

"I don't think there is any plot; I hope there isn't," Bush said. "But it's an amazing phenomenon, I'll tell you that. It's like the flap over the foreign-leader deal. A guy gets up and quizzes me -- it's my fault for trying to answer -- but John McCain says something about the 'ambassador to Czechoslovakia.' Well, I know there is no Czechoslovakia (there's a Czech Republic and a Slovakia), but yet it didn't make the nightly national news. I'm not going to gripe about it, but the media question is starting to pop up."

"We haven’t done enough. We have not done enough. And I’m committed to making sure that there’s equal pay for equal work. That there is equal opportunity in every aspect of our society. And that is my record and you can count on it." - (video)

In fact, on that very same day, McCain said that if he had been in the Senate, he would have voted against it because the bill “opens us up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems.” He also dismissed the importance of equal pay, saying that women simply need “education and training“:

“They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else,” McCain said. “And it’s hard for them to leave their families when they don’t have somebody to take care of them.

In May, McCain told a 14-year-old girl that equal pay and legislation such as Ledbetter bill don’t do “anything to help the rights of women.” McCain, however, is no expert on women’s issues. He has earned a 0 percent rating from NARAL ProChoice America six years in a row, from 2001-2007.

The problem with the critique? McCain also missed that vote on the Kyl-Lieberman amendment on September 26, 2007. Records show that Obama was in New Hampshire and McCain was in New York instead of being in the Senate chamber for the vote in question.

Indeed, McCain — the most absent Senator — has missed more than 60 percent of the votes in the 110th Congress.

"Once my condition had stabilized, my interrogators resumed their work. Demands for military information were accompanied by threats to terminate my medical treatment if I did not cooperate. Eventually, I gave them my ship’s name and squadron number, and confirmed that my target had been the power plant. Pressed for more useful information, I gave the names of the Green Bay Packers offensive line, and said they were members of my squadron. When asked to identify future targets, I simply recited the names of a number of North Vietnamese cities that had already been bombed." - ABC News

"Five years ago, the outdoor footware company Crocs was started by a couple of entrepreneurs with a great idea, ingenuity and drive. This former small business now employs 600 people in Colorado alone and sells over 50% of its products in 90 countries around the world. Building barriers to Crocs or any American company’s access to foreign markets will have a devastating effect on our economy and jobs and the prosperity of American families."

"U.S. Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign today released a statement signed by over 300 professional economists in support of John McCain’s Jobs for America economic plan. The list includes Nobel Prize winners, business economists with experience in the private sector, policy economists with experience in government and academic economists from major universities and state and community colleges."

The American people know that John McCain’s record of service and sacrifice is not a matter of debate. He has written about and discussed his service as a POW extensively — often in excruciating and painful detail. The American people will judge harshly anyone who demeans or attacks that service.

"[I]n 1986, we passed a law and said we would secure the borders and gave amnesty to a couple — three million people. I supported that legislation way back then."

The Arizona Republic newspaper in 1986 reported that he had called the bill racist and quoted him as saying the bill’s requirements for employers to verify workers “would institutionalize discrimination.” He said employers would refuse to hire Hispanics to avoid running afoul of the law.

“There are fundamental differences,” McCain told Politico. “He [Sen Webb] creates a new bureaucracy and new rules. His bill offers the same benefits whether you stay three years or longer. We want to have a sliding scale to increase retention." [CBS News - 4/30/08]

“If he said that, and I do not know the context, I strenuously disagree.”

“I think it’s very helpful to President Bush,” said McCain, R-Ariz., while stumping in Stamford for U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays. “It focuses America’s attention on the war on terrorism. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but I think it does have an effect.” [AP, 10/30/04]

"30 of the people who have already been released from Guantanamo Bay have already tried to attack America again, one of them just a couple weeks ago, a suicide bomber in Iraq."

"The “30” number, however, was corrected in a DoD press release issued in July 2007, and a DoD document submitted to the House Foreign Relations Committee on May 20, 2008 abandons the claim entirely."

"I don know about you, but I'm PROUD of MY country!"

"I’ll admit to you … that it’s tough in some respects. We have not always done things right and we mismanaged the war in Iraq very badly for nearly four years.”

"It wasn't until I was deprived of her company that I fell in love with America."

[E]very candidate's wife "should be treated with respect, and if there's any disrespectful conduct on the part of anyone, those people should be rejected."

"It is critical, as we prepare to face off with whomever the Democrats select as their nominee, that we all follow John's lead and run a respectful campaign focused on the issues and values that are important to the American people.
...
Throughout his life John McCain has held himself to the highest standards and he will continue to run a respectful campaign based on the issues."

"Is it OK to Unconditionally Meet With Anti-American Foreign Leaders?"

Flop: On June 6, Holtz-Eakin announced, “That plan, when appropriately phased in, as it has always been intended to be, will bring the budget to balance by the end of his first term.”

The Arizona senator said he believes Americans need to take advantage of opportunities of a new economy, not cling to the old economy. "I know that's small comfort to you, but I can't look you in the eye and tell you that those steel mills are coming back," he said.

"My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East."

McCAIN: We get in this kind of a circular firing squad on immigration reform in the Congress of the United States, and the lesson I learned from it is we’ve got to have comprehensive immigration reform.

Q: At this point, if your original proposal came to a vote on the Senate floor, would you vote for it? […]

McCAIN: No, I would not, because we know what the situation is today. The people want the borders secured first.

"Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right."

RUSSERT: Do you believe that Jerry Falwell is still an agent of intolerance?

McCAIN: No, I don’t. I think that Jerry Falwell can explain to you his views on this program when you have him on."

“It’s not about who THEY are, it’s about who WE are!” - 2005

Four years later, McCain hadn't changed his tune. "Ethanol is a product that would not exist if Congress didn't create an artificial market for it. No one would be willing to buy it," McCain said in November 2003. "Yet thanks to agricultural subsidies and ethanol producer subsidies, it is now a very big business - tens of billions of dollars that have enriched a handful of corporate interests - primarily one big corporation, ADM. Ethanol does nothing to reduce fuel consumption, nothing to increase our energy independence, nothing to improve air quality."

"Only a fool or a fraud talks tough or romantically about war..."

"As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it."

"That's a source that didn't even exist 10 years ago," Cheney said, according to the Associated Press. "Four hundred thousand people make some money trading on eBay."

"I'm a federalist. Just as I believe that the issue of gay marriage should be decided by the states, so do I believe that we would be better off by having Roe v. Wade return to the states. And I don't believe the Supreme Court should be legislating in the way that they did on Roe v. Wade."