McCain: Picks Patriots, tells a Reagan joke

By Mark Silva

Jay Leno opened his Tonight show to more than “the comeback kid’’ last night – playing host to Sen. John McCain, the hot ticket in the Republican primaries.

When talked turned to that other erstwhile frontrunner in the GOP’s presidential campaign – Rudy Giuliani – out walked the former mayor of New York.

For several painful minutes, McCain and Giuliani shared the couches of America’s late-night comedian who likes to dabble in politics. There weren’t a lot of laughs in the late-night joint appearances of the two who made every show of being best friends, despite the fact that McCain – and also Mitt Romney -- had laid Giuliani’s campaign hopes to rest this week. But McCain did make his Super Bowl pick – Patriots – and gave Giuliani points for his Giants.

McCain did tell one joke on Ronald Reagan when talk turned to age (if elected, McCain would enter the White House older than Reagan) – he noted that Reagan had campaigned in “all 13 states.’’ And McCain, who allowed that there may have been about 14 too many debates in the 15 they have gone through this year, suggested that this contest is not about who is about the best debater – it’s who is best-suited to lead.

“It really is an amazing story,’’ Leno said, introducing McCain. “Now, after three stunning primary victories, he's now the Republican frontrunner. Please welcome our good friend, Senator John McCain, ladies and gentlemen.

“Well, congratulations,’’ Leno said. “You see us about two times a year; if we're lucky, maybe three. And last July, I guess, remember it was, like, "Oh, my God, he's a nice guy, Kev. It's too bad it didn't work out." I mean, and yet you always seem to just does it affect you? Or do you keep it all inside?

“It was the contributions from the band that kept us going,’’ said McCain – ba-da-boom.

“By the way, my lawyer joke,’’ McCain said…

“Oh, you have a lawyer joke? ‘’ Leno asked.

“Yes,’’ McCain said. “Do you know the difference between a lawyer and a catfish?

“One is a scum sucking bottom dweller,’’ said McCain. “The other is a fish.’’

”There goes the lawyer vote,’’ McCain said,.

“I guess you can cross out the endorsement from the American Bar Association,’’ Leno added.

“They're gone. They're gone,’’ McCain said. “Thanks for having me on. I was reminded back there in July of the words of Chairman Mao, who said, "It's always darkest before it's totally black," and he came back. Remember Mao?

“Don't quote Mao on the campaign trail,’’ the host said. “Not a good idea. It's interesting because I've watched your career, and you seem to revel in being the underdog. It seems like, when the times get rough, you do this conniving do you enjoy that?’’

“In a way, yeah,’’ McCain said. “If I could just tell you a brief story. I was in Iraq with my friend Senator Lindsey Graham. 688 brave young Americans temperatures like 125 reenlist to stay in Iraq and fight. I mean, it was one of the more moving experiences I've ever had. We were on the plane on the way back, and we were talking, and I said, "You know, you've got these kids out there, these brave young Americans out there, and I'm worried about my political future, and they are putting it on the line. We're not going to let them get defeated. We're not going to have them surrender, and they're going to win," and, by golly, they are winning, my friend.’’

Applause in the hall.

“Well, I think that's what people like about you. You're kind of a straight talking guy,’’ said Leno, happily playing the candidate’s trademark for him. “Sometimes I see people kind of coming over to that. I notice, like, the best example was in Michigan where one of your opponents said, "Oh, the jobs are all coming back assuming they're going to make '57 Chevy's again." And then, you said, "No, these jobs aren't coming back. No, they're not." And I could see people go, "What?"

“And we went to South Carolina and told them that the textile mills aren't coming back,’’ McCain said. “But I also told them, "Look, there's green technologies. There's a whole new era out there. There's hybrid cars. There's battery powered cars. There's ethanol." I used to have a glass of ethanol every morning before breakfast in the morning in Iowa. Yeah, it's good for you.

“But the fact is that there are new technologies out there. Look, climate change is real in my view. With green technologies, we can create thousands and millions of new jobs in America.

“And by the way, this governor who endorsed me today, The Terminator, I was very happy to be with him today he believes in that. He believes here in California that we can clean up the air, clean up the climate and give our kids a better planet in the future, and I believe that, too. And by the way, I saw the gun in the….’’

(Insert laughter here.)

“With Governor Schwarzenegger, it was by the way, you saw it, didn't you, where Chuck Norris had said that I was too old?

”Chuck Norris said that you were too old. I did see that,’’ Leno said.

“Schwarzenegger is going to take care of him.’’

”Now, I see your family with you on the campaign trail,’’ Leno said.

“Yes, my daughter Meghan and my wife Cindy are here, and they're doing a great job. My daughter Meghan is a blogger and doing great and enjoying all of it, every minute of it, especially speaking of some of the nicer places we're staying in some places in America.’’

”I want to ask you about the debates,’’ Leno said. “Can there be too many of these things? Do you like that forum? Do you think the more the better?’’

“I think that was our 15th, and I think there was only 14 too many,’’ McCain said.

“It gives people a chance to examine the candidates,’’ he added on a more serious note. “It was kind of interesting when there was like nine of us, you know. Really you know you'd be asked a question, and you knew it was going to be probably eight or nine minutes before they got around to you again, and I miss some of them…

“You know, they're an important part of the process. People get to see us in comparison with others, but I like the town hall meetings. I love the town hall meetings….

“ Regular people ask questions, and they get to ask a follow up question, and we go back and forth a lot of times, and then people feel they're part of the process. Even if they are one of the thousand that never got to ask a question, they're a part of it. Of course, the place where it happens the most is New Hampshire.

“That's a state where they've grown used to it, and my favorite joke that I stole from Mark Udall many years ago, he said he walked into a barber shop in Manchester, New Hampshire. He was from Arizona as you know, and he said, "Hi. I'm Mark Udall from Arizona, and I'm running for President of the United States." And the barber said, "Yeah, we were just laughing about that this morning."

(Insert laughterr.)

”And everybody has stolen it, by the way,’’ McCain said.

”Including you.’’

“Including me.’’

After a break, Leno noted that he was here with McCain

”You know, watching the tone of the campaign, especially, first it got contentious with Hillary and Barack, and then I watched the Republicans the next night,’’ Leno said. “You guys couldn't have been more polite to each. Was that sort of did you guys watch that debate and say "Oh, we don't want to do that"?

“You always have to be careful when you're in one of these debates because you're running for President, not the best debater,’’ McCain said.. So you always want to try to appear as thoughtful as you can. People can tune in on any cable show and watch people fight. This is about who they want to be President. I can't tell you the number of times I've run into people and they say, "You did a great job." "Well, what do you like?" "Well, I can't remember anything in particular, but you did a great job." So you've got to be careful about that. People don't expect us to disparage each other's character and integrity.’’

“Well, the other night you and Romney, to use a military term, got snippy,’ Leno said. “Is that a military term?’’

“Yes,’’ McCain said. “It got a little rough. I understand that we're getting near the end here. I think we've got some momentum. Governor Schwarzenegger, the governor of Florida –

“D you like Romney?’’ Leno asked.

“Oh, yes. I think he's a very fine family man. I think he's a good man. I just think that I'm obviously more qualified….

(Insert applause.)

”So it got a little rough, but we try to avoid that as much as we can. I want to tell you this guy Governor Huckabee is a good guy…. He really is. He's a good sincere person. Fred Thompson has been on your show. You know, he's a great guy…. These guys are good guys.

“The Huckabee thing,’’ Leno interjected. “It was Huckabee. Something I saw happen right before South Carolina. You were able to diffuse it in a way John Kerry didn't. When John Kerry, who I think was a legitimate hero in the war, that whole swift boat thing. I think people remember that, and they made him out like for about one day there a story circulating, what they call that push pull, where "John McCain really wasn't a prisoner. He really didn't do this."

“The Manchurian candidate,’’ McCain said.

“I just said, "Oh, boy, are they going to try to ruin this man?" Leno said. “And yet it just disappeared after one day, the story. Were you guys able too quash that?’’

“I think it was that, and also people didn't believe it,’’ McCain said. “They know me well enough.’’

“When the lie is so outrageous like that, like, you were never in a prisoner of war camp, there's always somebody who's going to go how does one deal with it? What do you do?’’ Leno asked.

“The first thing you got to do, and this is easier said than done, don't let it get under your skin. Don't let it bother you. If somebody questions whether I was the Manchurian candidate or not, your immediate reaction is (indicating), but you've got to just let it not get under your skin. You've got to take it for what it is and campaign hard enough that people know you, that they really know you, and that's why we won in New Hampshire. We did a 101 town hall meetings, came back, and started coming back up, coming back up. I didn't after a while I didn't even have to carry my own bags anymore.’’

Leno asked: “On conservative radio, Rush Limbaugh especially, he's "The Republican party is dead if John McCain gets elected." What do you do there? Do you try and win those guys over? Do you ignore it and hope they come around? I mean, the right wing radio thing is pretty powerful. Would you go on his show if he invited you?

”I would go on most any show,’’ McCain said.

“Well, obviously,’’ the Tonight host replied.

“I think the important thing is to convince our Republican base which is a very conservative that, one, I'm a conservative, and, two, that I'm the best qualified on taking on their major concern, that is, this struggle against radical Islamic extremism, and I think I can I've been able to do that pretty successfully,’’ McCain said. “Look, the straight talk is that we're going to have to energize our base and get everybody into our party if we're going to win in November. Straight talk, right now, when you look at Democrat versus Republican, we Republicans got our work cut out for us and get back to the principles that made us the majority party.’’

“Have you been looking at the vice president?’’ Leno asked.

“Well, I know that your contract is up,’’ McCain said. “And if there's anything we could use, it's a little humor in Washington. Right?’’

”You know something?’’ Leno said. “You make more in a good week in Vegas. The money sucks.’’

“That's probably true,’’ McCain said.

“What is the biggest issue for you? The economy or the war in Iraq?’’

“I think both,’’ McCain said. “Right now we've got some very tough times economically. I think we can get through it. I think the struggle against radical Islamic extremism is with us for a long time. I think this guy Osama bin Laden gets his message out over the Internet. We've got to get him. My friends, I'll get Osama bin Laden. I'll get him. We'll bring him to justice.’’

“Didn't you once say we could be in Iraq for a hundred years?’’

“Yeah, but the point is it's not American presence; it's American casualties,’’ McCain said. “The casualties are coming down; we are succeeding. We're in Kuwait, right next door. We're in Turkey. We're all over the world. The point is that we are succeeding, and the Iraqi military must take over those responsibilities. Our troops withdraw to bases. If there's some kind of agreement like there is between United States and Kuwait, fine, but the point is American casualties. And it's sad, and it breaks your heart, but I do believe that, if you pull the plug, the way Senator Clinton and Senator Obama want, then all of those deaths well, let me just say, I think it would be greater chaos, and we would be surrendering, and I don't think they want that. The young people are telling me, "Let us win."

“Now, when you were a young man starting your political career, Reagan was running for president,’’ Leno asked. “Did you go, "That guy is way too old"?
”I never thought that,’’ McCain said. “I remember him saying he was going to campaign, when he was running for President, in all 13 states.’’

“Really,’’ Leno said, prolonging the laugh line.

“I never thought he was too old,’’ McCain said.

“How important is the Rudy Giuliani endorsement?’’ Leno asked.

“Well, Rudy Giuliani is one of the great American heroes. All of us remember after 9/11 the way he united our nation,’’ McCain said.

And finally, this was Giuliani’s cue:

“Just like that,’’ said the former mayor, walking on stage and pushing McCain down a few seats from the host table.

“You know something?’’ Leno told Giuliani. I must say since yesterday, you look so relaxed.’’

”I guess in a way, sure,’’ Giuliani said. “There's a certain amount of disappointment because, when you run for President, you want to win. I thought I was the best, but I did announce at one debate that, if I weren't running, my candidate would be John McCain.’’

“Now, you two are friends,’’ Leno said. “How did you guys meet?’’

“I met John when I was the mayor and he was the senator. I worked with him. I think we did some campaigning together and became good friends,’’ the former mayor said.

“We became good friends from the 2001 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Diamondbacks,’’ McCain said. “We went to Phoenix, Arizona, together. They played some games in New York City. And here we're sitting next to each other, 46,000 fans. Rudy Giuliani with a New York Yankees hat on, he shows up on the Jumbotron. 46,000 people stood and cheered and cheered because of what he'd done for America. That really cemented our friendship.’’

“A lot of Republicans think you guys are too liberal,’’ Leno said. “What do you think?

”I don't know who they are,’’ Giuliani said. “Read the editorials about me when I was mayor of New York, and you would never everybody has their own definition of all of these things, but on national security, fiscal policies, just about all the ways in which you define conservative, I think both of us are conservative. But I think both of us also want to get things done. If you're mayor of a city like I was or a senator who's trying to get things done, you have to work with the other side. There are times in which you've got to accept three quarters of what you would like in order or maybe even half. Ronald Reagan taught me that. Ronald Reagan used to say it's better to get, you know, 70 or 80 percent than to get nothing at all.’’

Leno started talking about the campaign – “Do we have to?’’ Giuliani asked with a smile.

“It's sort of fascinating to me because, at the time, maybe this time last year, Iraq and maybe national security were the issues, and that's your issue,’’ Leno said. “You're the man on that. And then it seems to have switched to the economy. Do you think that might have explained some of the downturn?’’

“I think there are a lot of things that explain it,’’ Giuliani said. “I don't think it's particularly that. I think the great campaign that he ran coming from where it looked like it was over, and John never accepted it was over. I was asked at the time if I thought it was over, and I said, "Wait and see," because of the way I know John is. I think his great campaign, some of the other things that happened in the early primaries I think that had more to do with it.’’

“How about putting all your eggs in one basket?’’ Leno asked. “Putting everything on Florida. What was the thinking there?’’

“The thinking was that that was the primary where we could do the best, and the damage was there was so many three or four primaries before and it was a strategy we had come to,’’ Giuliani said. “It was a strategy we believed in, and it was obviously one that didn't work.’’

“It also was an honorable campaign, a very honorable campaign,’’ McCain said, all laughing aside now. “I've lost campaigns, and I think one of the important things is how you look back on how you conducted it. I think it was an honorable campaign.’’

“Could you ever be a running mate?’’ Leno asked. “Would you ever be a running mate? Is that something you would consider?’’

“No one runs as a running mate,’’ Giuliani said. “I was asked that question a number of times when I was a candidate for President, and what I said was, "You don't make decisions like that until you're the nominee, and then you give it a lot of reflection. Nobody runs for it. The candidate has to have a total, absolutely open choice as to whoever they think is the best."

“If you were doing this all over again, would you have worked harder in those early primaries?’’ Leno asked.

“It’s too early to say,’’ Giuliani said. “It's too early to say. As you go back over what would you have done? This differently? That differently? The one good thing was I was able to come out of it feeling that we had highlighted a number of really important issues about very large tax reductions, single page tax return, sticking with what has to happen in Iraq, remaining on the offense against Islamic terrorism, and we came out of it with the ability to endorse a candidate I really believe in. So we're okay with it.’’

“Who would you rather campaign against?’’ Leno asked. “Who do you want to see get the nomination, Hillary or Obama? Who would be harder to beat?’’

”I think both are formidable,’’ Giuliani said. “I think you shouldn't underestimate, but both I think that the fact that I am a conservative and, I think, in tune with most of the American people, and we'll have a conservative Republican against a liberal Democrat, and that would be a respectful but very, very spirited debate. On John's behalf, though, John is a conservative, but John also has the ability to reach out at a number of these Democratic voters, and it makes him a candidate in states that other Republicans might not be a competitive candidate states like Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, Connecticut, and here in California states that we haven't, as Republicans, been able to be competitive, and that's why I think he'll be our strongest candidate.’’

“Were you guys stunned by the Kennedy endorsement of Obama over Hillary?’’ Leno asked. “Did that come as a complete surprise to you?’’

McCain said: “I didn't know enough about it to have a thought about it… I'm not that familiar with the leanings of the members of the party. So I really I honestly didn't know, and I don't know the dynamics, but it certainly has been a very interesting race to watch.’’

“One last question,’’ Leno said. “You're the straight talk express. Who do got in the Super Bowl?’’

“New York Giants all the way,’’ the former mayor said.

“Arizona is the host of this,’’ McCain said.

“Who do you got?’’ Leno pressed.

”Straight talk,’’ McCain finally said. “Ssomebody is going to have to show me how you beat the Patriots.’’

“Will you give me the points?’’ Giuliani asked.

“Yes,’’ McCain said. “I'll give you the points.''