The following is a transcript (edited a bit for clarity) of one on one interviews John McCain did with KCTV and The Star's Steve Kraske while in Kansas City Wednesday afternoon.
KCTV went first:
HOW IMPORTANT IS MISSOURI? HOW OFTEN DO YOU PLAN TO BE HERE?“As often as possible, and it is a battleground state. It is one of the states that I believe we’ll be up late on election night and I’ll be saying, we’re waiting for results to come from Missouri or Missouri-a, however you pronounce it.
WE’RE 100 DAYS AWAY FROM THE GENERAL ELECITON
98.
HAVE YOU CHOSEN A RUNNING MATE:
Not commenting on process….leads to too much of a flurry of speculating….can invade process.
We have to many highly qualified people to choose from.
YOU WILL BE OLDEST PRESIDENT TO TAKE OFFICE.
I was in Mayo Clinic seeing a dermotogloist. Urge everyone to regularly see dermotolgoist.
It was an issue in the primary. We out-camaigned our opponent…
ON IRAQSOFTENED IDEA FOR TIMETABLE FOR WITHDRAWAL:
No.
It’s still conditional. It’s based on conditions on the ground.
Seen from suicide bombings….peace still fragile.
It’s got to be based on conditions on the ground.
Sen. Obama remarkably in his recent trip to Iraq would not acknowledge that the surge has succeeded. No rationale person who has seen Iraq over the last two years cannot acknowledge that the surge has succeeded and we’re winning a victory and we’ll come home with honor.
On the DEFICIT, THE ECONOMYWe need a national mission to achieve energy independence. One part is off-shore drilling, to get short-term supplies.We need autos on batteries, hydrogen, and we need to unleash American technology. We have to do it and do it quickly.
But number one: gain independence on foreign oil.
Off-shore oil drilling is an immediate answer.On KC BARBEQUE:
It is wonderful. It is wonderful. And we have had it on numerous occasions, and I have taken some of the barbecue sauce which I won’t name the label on it, because that might be a commercial.
Cindy McCain then added:
It’s not as good as my husband’s babecue.
Kraske's interview followed:
Are you saying that Senator Obama is not rational when it comes to his policy on Iraq?
I’m saying he doesn’t understand. Clearly he doesn’t understand. And he used the Iraq war and his opposition to it to help gain the nomination of his party. And he doesn’t understand that what happened in Iraq can affect the very future of the United States of America.
To announce his policy on Iraq before he left after he hasn’t been there in 900 days and never sit down and ask for a sit down briefing with General Petraeus, and then fail to acknowledge that the surge is succeeding. He clearly doesn’t understand.
Are you still saying he wants to lose in Iraq?I’m saying tht he seemsed to me that he’d rathe lose a war than lose a campaign. How could anybody not acknowledge the success of Iraq. Who could not understand that the surge was vital to American’s national security. That’s what I’m saying. So he doesn’t understand. And he used the issue for polticial reasons.”
You’ve been criticized in recent days for adopting Karl Rove’s “low-minded and uncivil playbook.” Some say you look desperate, and you look mean, and that’s not like John McCain. What about that?
What about that? I’m happy with our campaign. I’m happy with where we are. I’m happy that we’ve drawn the differenes.
I said during the Iraq war, when I complained about the surge, and they said I was disloyal to my president. I said I wanted 30,000 more troops there when we were losing. And I said I would much rather lose a campaign than lose a war. That’s the same John McCain. I stand up for what I believe in. There are differences between myself and Senator Obama, and those differences need to be drawn.I’m proud of my campaign.
Different tone now?Certainly not. Certainly not.
You have different people at the top of your campaign.Oh, please. The people at the top of my campaign “I’m very happy with and very grateful for. They’re great people, and I love them.
A report by the Tax Policy Center finds that Obama’s tax cuts for middle-class families are three times larger than yours. Do you think American families will believe that they will benefit from your proposal to cut taxes for corporations and for big oil?
The fact is that Senator Obama wants to raise taxes on a large number of Americans, whether they have something to do with capital gains, which 100 million Americans do. He wants to raise Social Security taxes. He wants to raise literally…the top tax rate, and I want taxes to be kept low. And I’m not advocating raising any taxes. I will do everything I can to keep taxes low, so the worst thing you can do is raise taxes in times of economic difficulty.
Why cut taxes for corporations now?Corporations create jobs, and corporations now have a choice of remaining in the United States of America where they have a 35 percent tax rate, which is the second-highest in the world. Or they can go to Ireland where there’s an 11 percent tax rate.
The United States of America used to have amongst the lowest corporate tax rates in the world. Now we’re the second-highest to Japan.
Businesses create jobs. I want them to stay in the United of America and create jobs here.
The fastest way I know to drive them to other countries…is to continue to raise their taxes as Senator Obama advocates. You’ve said “there is nothing that's off the table” to shore up the Social Security system, presumably including a rise in payroll taxes.
That’s presuming wrong. I am going in with a position that I am against tax increases of any kind. That is my position as I go in.
Including payroll taxes for Social Security?I’ve been involved in Washington in many negotiations on issues, whether it be immigration or campaign-finance reform or issues before the Commerce Committee. You go in with a position and you negotiate.
My position is that I’m against increased taxes, and my record shows that I have opposed tax increases and been in favor of tax cuts.
But you are leaving open the possibility of a tax increase?I am going in with a position, and I know how you negotiate. And we will negotiate. And I am saying again, my position is I am against increasing taxes. That’s my position, that’s been my record. And that’s my answer. If you want to keep asking me over and over again, you’re welcome to. I don’t know how much time we have. You keep asking the same question.
What do you want to do about Social Security?I want to fix it.How do you get there?I want to sit down. We’ve got to sit down across the table, Republican and Democrat. We know how these things are done. We say OK, we’ve got to negotiate. We’ve got to put the American people first and our party second. That’s how we came up with immigration reform with Senator Kennedy. I’m sorry we failed.
You sit down and you have a negotiating position. That’s my position on taxes, and you come to an agreement.
When you say you’d go to the table and negotiate, are you saying it’s possible that a result of that negotiation could be an increase in payroll taxes?
I’ll answer it again. My position going in in negotiations is I’m against tax increases, and I have not been supportive of tax increases, and we will negotiate and you have to negotiate in good faith.
See a vice presidential nominee before the Olympics?I really don’t know. I thank you for asking. But we’re just in the process.
He Has Turned
I met John McCain in 1999 at a campaign event and liked him very much. Going into this campaign I liked him, but he has turned.
Straight Talk Skywalker has laid down his light saber to adorn a dark suit of evil. He is no longer John McCain but a man trapped in the GOP's machine of attack and deceit.
On taxes, lies, even with Kraske’s point blank recant of non-partisan study between the two plans. On Iraq, completely questions Obama’s intentions and patriotism. Doesn’t even acknowledge his campaign’s new Rovian themes.
John McCain is losing in this election what he refused to lose in prison camp, his honor.