McCain wants no yes men in his White House

by Jill Zuckman

Weare, N.H. – If he were elected president, Sen. John McCain would surround himself with peers who would be willing to tell him he's wrong. He would ask accomplished Americans to give back to their country by coming to work for the government. And he would consult with experts who span the ideological spectrum when it comes to national security and foreign affairs.

In a wide-ranging discussion aboard his bus Monday, McCain shared his thoughts about who a president should surround himself with, what policy area he considers his shortcoming and the type of people he would want in his cabinet.

Wednesday in Boston, McCain will hold a town hall meeting with one man he hopes will continue to advise him and, if necessary, disagree with him – Dr. Henry Kissinger, the former national security adviser and Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Ford. James Woolsey, the former CIA director under President Clinton, will open the discussion.

McCain said great presidents constantly expand their circle of advisers, not tighten it.

"You've got to have a circle of people who are really your peers, not your subordinates. And you've got to call on them for advice and counsel and you've got to call on people who don't agree with you and are willing to say it," McCain said. "In the conduct of foreign policy, it's got to be the realpolitick guys all the way over to the neo-cons."

On national security and foreign policy, McCain said he talks to Kissinger, former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, foreign policy expert and neoconservative Bob Kagan, Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's national security adviser, and Richard Holbrooke, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President Clinton.

"I don’t think that Dr. Kissinger would have any reluctance if I called him on the phone to say, 'You're wrong, look you're wrong.' I don’t think Brent Scowcroft would either. Or Bob Kagan," McCain said.

In other areas of government, McCain said he would look toward accomplished Americans to fill important positions. And he said he would tap them for what they can do, not because they might be his cronies.

"You go out and you find the best and the brightest and ask them to serve their country and you appeal to their patriotism and you say come and fix things," McCain said. "You say, 'look, come and serve the country, come and work, we'll give you a dollar a year, it's time you give back.' "

One person McCain desperately wants to help run the federal government is Fred Smith, the founder of Federal Express.

"Fred Smith would be the kind of guy that I would love to see running FEMA," said McCain, who cites Smith frequently and often mentions him for a variety of government positions.

When it comes to his vice president, McCain said he could envision giving the vice president responsibility to oversee certain policy matters much the way former President Clinton gave telecommunications issues to former Vice President Al Gore.

That subject area might be the economy, an area McCain said he has never been completely comfortable with.

"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 said his staff hates it when he discusses his shortcomings on economics, even though he has read widely and studied the subject.

"I've never been involved in Wall Street, I've never been involved in the financial stuff, the financial workings of the country, so I'd like to have somebody intimately familiar with it," he said of a potential vice president.

"All of us bring strengths and weaknesses to an office and you want to compliment your weaknesses," he said. "That's not an admission of failure, it's just the best way to govern."