John McCain: Trending quotes (page 8)

“I believe that Carly Fiorina is a role model to millions of young American women. She started out as a part-time secretary and she ended up a CEO of one of the major corporations in America. I’m proud of her record and so I want everybody to know that Carly Fiorina is a person that I admire and respect.”

John McCain

On campaign economic advisor Carly Fiorina, 23 September 2008 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/23/mccain_fiorina_a_role_model.html
2000s, 2008

Women , Time , Parting , Personality

“I'd like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan: thank you for immigrating to America. We're a better country because of you. And you are certainly right; your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation -- and he will never be forgotten.”

John McCain

2010s, 2016, Statement regarding the Khan family (1 August 2016)

Memory , Country

“I love him dearly. On issues of economics and … family values, there's nobody that I know that's stronger.”

John McCain

On campaign economic adviser Phil Gramm; 18 January 2008; http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011908dnpolgramm.2d19db0.html
2000s, 2008

Love , Family

“I hate war. It's terrible beyond imagination.”

John McCain

2000s, 2008, (2008)

Hate , War , Imagination

“Because I know that as successful as I believe we will be, and I believe that the success [in Iraq] will be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women. And that's a great tragedy.”

John McCain

Appearance on Larry King Live http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0209/24/lkl.00.html, (24 September 2002)
2000s, 2002

Women , Men , Success

“I think one of our big problems has been the fact that many Iraqis resent American military presence. And I don't pretend to know exactly Iraqi public opinion. But as soon as we can reduce our visibility as much as possible, the better I think it is going to be.”

John McCain

As quoted in MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6895182/ (31 January 2005)
2000s, 2005

Problem , Thinking

“I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I loved it for its decency, for its faith in the wisdom, justice, and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again; I wasn't my own man anymore; I was my country's.”

John McCain

2000s, 2008, (2008)

Love , Life , Wisdom , People

“Americans are very frustrated, and they have every right to be. We’ve wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives.”

John McCain

Discussing the Iraq War on the Late Show with David Letterman (28 February 2007)
[Associated Press, McCain to formally announce bid in April, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17389011/, MSNBC.com, 2007-03-01, 2007-03-01]
2000s, 2007

“If I am elected President, I will work with anyone who sincerely wants to get this country moving again. I will listen to any idea that is offered in good faith and intended to help solve our problems, not make them worse. I will seek the counsel of members of Congress from both parties in forming government policy before I ask them to support it. I will ask Democrats to serve in my administration. My administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability. I will hold weekly press conferences. I will regularly brief the American people on the progress our policies have made and the setbacks we have encountered. When we make errors, I will confess them readily, and explain what we intend to do to correct them. I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address criticism, much the same as the Prime Minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons.”

John McCain

[Text of McCain's Speech on First-Term Goals, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/05/15/text_of_mccains_vision_of_2013.html, washingtonpost.com, 2008-05-15, 2008-06-01]
2000s, 2008

People , Faith , Error , Idea

“In this country, we believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential, from the boy whose descendents arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers. We're all God's children, and we're all Americans. We believe -- we believe in low taxes, spending discipline, and open markets. We believe in rewarding hard work and risk-takers and letting people keep the fruits of their labor.”

John McCain

2000s, 2008, (2008)

God , Children , People , Boy

“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.”

John McCain

As quoted in Wall Street Journal http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007600 (26 November 2005), by Stephen Moore
2000s, 2005

Education

“You know, it's interesting for the president to say something that juvenile. I'm not picking on anyone. Again, as we just said, four Americans died! Is that picking on anybody when you want to place responsibility and find out what happened so that we can make sure it doesn't happen again?”

John McCain

On the Record w/Greta van Susteren http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/on-the-record/2012/11/15/mccain-obama-were-not-picking-anybody-we-want-answers-and-buck-stops-your-desk-mr-preside, Fox News,
regarding McCain's opposition to the potential nomination of ambassador Susan Rice to Secretary of State over her statements about the 2012 Benghazi attack, and President Obama saying in a press conference, "If Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after someone, they should go after me. And I'm happy to have that discussion with them. But for them to go after the United Nations ambassador, who had nothing to do with Benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intel she had received, and to besmirch her reputation, is outrageous."
2010s, 2012

“Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier, because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.”

John McCain

2000s, 2008, (2008)

Life , Country , Happiness

“At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt.”

John McCain

Taken from The Real McCain by Cliff Schecter, referring to his wife, Cindy McCain. Overheard by three anonymous reporters during his 1992 senate bid. http://rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_temper_boiled_over_in_92_0407.html
Disputed

“We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement -- that's the kindest word I can give you -- of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war. The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously. I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history.”

John McCain

[Associated Press, McCain blasts Rumsfeld for Iraq war missteps, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17231371/from/RS.5/, MSNBC.com, 2007-02-19, 2007-02-20]
2000s, 2007

War , History , Thinking

“America, the only nation ever founded in the name of liberty, never had a more ardent champion of liberty than Barry Goldwater. Simply put, Barry Goldwater was in love with freedom.”

John McCain

As quoted in "Goldwater Called 'Great Patriot'" at CBS News (29 May 1998) http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/05/29/national/main10557.shtml http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLATQAU-Hw0
McCain was Barry Goldwater's 1986 senate successor from Arizona.
1990s

Love , Freedom

“Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.”

John McCain

GOP fund-raiser, Washington D.C., (June 1998)
1990s
Source: [the Flash, Flashes - That's Senator McNasty to You, http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1998-06-18/news/flashes/, Phoenix New Times, Village Voice Media, 1998-06-18, 2007-02-19, The Washington Post broke the news last week of yet another McCain gaffe, made during a GOP fund raiser at a D.C. steak house. But neither the Post nor any other national publication that the Flash knows of actually printed the joke. To its credit, the Arizona Republic did. Here goes: ...]
Source: A joke too bad to print?, 2007-02-09, Corn, David, Salon.com, Salon.com, http://web.archive.org/web/20000229090904/http://www.salon.com/news/1998/06/25newsb.html, 1998-06-25 http://www.salon.com/news/1998/06/25newsb.html,
Source: McCain's Out-of-Control Anger, 2007-02-09, Kessler, Ronald, 2006-07-05, NewsMax.com, NewsMax.com, 2007-02-08, http://web.archive.org/web/20060721082127/http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/7/5/00548.shtml, "… only a few news outlets, like the Phoenix New Times in Arizona and the National Journal, that ran an Associated Press story reporting McCain's 1998 joke suggesting that Chelsea Clinton was ugly and Janet Reno and Hillary Clinton were lesbians." http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/7/5/00548.shtml,

“In all candor, if I'd been President of the United States, I'd have ordered the plane landed at the nearest Air Force base, and I'd have been over here, ok?”

John McCain

On how he would have acted when Katrina made landfall if he had been president, LA Times http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mccain25apr25,1,7654195.story, despite being in Arizona with Pres. Bush during Katrina's landfall http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24352103/; 25 April 2008
2000s, 2008

“I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.”

John McCain

Statement about his North Vietnamese prison guards, in response to a question asked by reporters aboard his campaign bus. (17 February 2000) He later refused to apologize for using a racial slur, stating: "I was referring to my prison guards, and I will continue to refer to them in language that might offend some people because of the beating and torture of my friends." San Francisco Chronicle (18 February 2000) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/02/18/MN32194.DTL
2000s

Hate

“Vietnam vet: We haven't heard why you voted against your colleagues' proposals to increase health care funding in 2004, '05, '06, and '07, when we had troops coming back from two wars.
Madow: Instead of the answer the questioner is looking for, McCain now takes credit for the GI bill and takes a political shot at Jim Webb.
McCain: On the issue of the GI bill, I was disappointed that Senator Webb didn't support making it permanent. Senator Graham, other veterans and I will be looking to extend that to all veterans, not just 2001. I hope you'll urge Senator Webb to agree with that.
McCain: I received every award from every major veterans' organization in America. The reason is I have a perfect voting record from organizations like Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and all the other veterans service organizations because of my support of them.
Vietnam vet: You do not have a perfect voting record by the DIV and the VFW. That's where these votes [of yours against increasing vet health care] are recorded. The votes were proposals by your colleagues in the Senate to increase health care funding of the VA in 2003, '04, '05, and '06 for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and you voted against those proposals. I can give you specific Senate votes, the numbers of those Senate votes right now.
McCain: I thank you, and I'll examine your version of what my voting record is, but again, I've been endorsed in every election by all of the veterans' organizations that do that. I've been supported by them, and I've received their highest rewards, from all of those organizations, so I guess they don't know something you know.
Rieckoff: [McCain's] voting record is not very strong. The Disabled American Veterans gave him a 20% rating out of 100. Our organization, the IAVA, gave him a D rating in the last voting session. He does not have a perfect voting record from the VFW. He's consistently voted against increased funding of the VA, and he's been a major opponent of the new GI bill.”

John McCain

Paul Rieckhoff of Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans for America and author of Chasing Ghosts, on Countdown, discussing a town hall exchange between McCain and another Vietnam vet; 9 July 2008; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnyEMLXvgV8
IAVA ratings: McCain: D; Obama: B+ http://www.iava.org/full-ratings-list; DAV: McCain: 20%; Obama: 80%; the AL and VFW don't perform such voting record ratings http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/does_mccain_have_a_perfect_voting_record.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnyEMLXvgV8
2000s, 2008

War , Health , Hope , Disappointment