McCain's Testy Sitdown With the DMR

The Des Moines Register editorial board has posted several video clips from their interview with John McCain yesterday.

McCain seems to get irritable a times, especially when challenged on the veracity of his campaign ads (in the video titled "Straight Talk"). One board member refers to a McCain spot that says Obama advocated sex-ed for kindergartners and another that says Obama was insulting Sarah Palin when he used the expression "lipstick on a pig." She asks how McCain can restore public trust in Washington when his own ads aren't completely honest. McCain's response:

I've always had 100% absolute truth. And that's been my life of putting my country first. And I'll match that record against anyone's, and I'm proud of it. And an assertion that I've ever done otherwise I take strong exception to...I respect your opinion, but it's not the facts that changes my positions and my honorable service to this country. So I respect your opinion. I strongly disagree with your assertion.

McCain also strenuously defends his running-mate Sarah Palin (in the "Gov Sarah Palin's Experience" video), comparing her experience level to that of former governors Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton when they were elected to the presidency. Asked about the anti-Palin stirrings among some conservatives, McCain responds with a sarcastic "Really?" and says he hasn't detected that sentiment in the polls or among the base.

-- Evie Stone

11:59 AM ET | 10- 1-2008 | permalink

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