McCain endorses Kerry?!

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McCain Defends Kerry's Record on National Security
Ariz. Senator Calls for More Civility in Debate

Republican Sen. John McCain yesterday defended Sen. John F. Kerry's record on national security, undercutting the Bush-Cheney campaign's latest attacks on the Democratic presidential challenger and frustrating conservatives hoping for a unified front against the Massachusetts senator.


"I do not believe that he is, quote, 'weak on defense,' " McCain (Ariz.) said on NBC's "Today" show.

Asked on the CBS "Early Show" whether he agreed with Vice President Cheney's assertion that Kerry is a threat to national security, McCain said: "I don't think that. I think that John Kerry is a good and decent man. . . . I think he has different points of view on different issues, and he will have to explain his voting record. But this kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful in educating and helping the American people make a choice."

Although McCain restated his support of Bush's reelection bid, Democrats welcomed his remarks during a week in which the Bush-Cheney campaign sharpened its attacks on Kerry's record on military and diplomatic matters. In a speech Wednesday in California, Cheney portrayed Kerry as a weak-willed lawmaker whose policies would have left Saddam Hussein in Baghdad as well as Kuwait. He said Kerry "has given us ample doubts about his judgment and the attitude he brings to bear on vital issues of national security."

Yesterday, the Bush campaign released a new TV ad attacking Kerry's voting record on funding the war in Iraq.

McCain, who lost a sometimes bitter GOP presidential nomination battle to Bush four years ago, is well-known for opposing Republican orthodoxy on campaign finance laws and other issues. A congressional authority on military affairs, he is a hero to many veterans familiar with his years of torture in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.

Some of Bush's staunchest backers seemed infuriated by McCain's comments, which ran counter to the Republicans' theme of the week and landed on an otherwise quiet day, with Kerry on vacation in Idaho. Conservative talk show hosts, including Laura Ingraham, denounced McCain's remarks, and by midday the senator was declining most interview requests.

Two associates close to McCain said that he is weary of such criticisms from within his party but that he refuses to join what he considers unfair attacks on Kerry, a friend and fellow decorated veteran of the Vietnam War. They noted that McCain was asked point-blank whether he thinks Kerry is weak on defense, not a more nuanced question such as how his and Kerry's voting records differ.

"John Kerry is his friend," McCain's chief of staff, Mark Salter, said. "He's not going to attack his friend."

On the "Today" show, McCain urged the Kerry and Bush campaigns to adopt more civil tones on terrorism and national security.

"Both sides have been beating up on the other in the most negative campaign earlier than I've ever seen," he said. "I'd like to see it stop. I'd like to see a serious discussion about Medicare, Social Security, education, what we're going to do about the deficit and overspending."

Hitting the same theme on the "Early Show," he said, "I think we ought to have open and honest debates on those issues. I think the president has led this nation with clarity since September 11th. I'm supporting his reelection. But I would certainly hope that we could raise the level of this debate. Otherwise, we're going to have very low voter turnouts in November."

The Bush-Cheney campaign played down McCain's remarks, noting that the senator has campaigned for Bush this year in New Hampshire. Asked whether the campaign would prefer that McCain stay off television, spokesman Terry Holt said: "In the Republican Party, we have a respect for our public officials to make those decisions for themselves. . . . John McCain said John Kerry would have to explain his record," a record the Bush campaign plans to make "exceedingly clear to voters."

Republican activist Charlie Black, who is close to many Bush advisers, agreed. "I don't think this is a very big deal," he said. "John McCain has done everything the Bush campaign has asked him to do. . . . John's a celebrity; he makes news."

Some Democratic activists, however, said McCain's comments will undercut Cheney's hard-hitting remarks.

"It only takes one person speaking out of school to reveal a lie or distortion," said Joe Lockhart, a former spokesman for president Bill Clinton. "So I think this could have a powerful impact on the Bush attack." Noting that Bush supporters fiercely criticized McCain in the 2000 South Carolina presidential primary, Lockhart said McCain "is probably America's biggest victim of the Bush attack machine."

On both morning TV programs, McCain reiterated that he will not leave the Republican Party or accept anyone's vice presidential offer. He said on CBS, "The vice president only has two duties. One is to break a tie vote in the Senate and the other is to inquire daily as to the health of the president. I prefer being in the Senate."

[Source: Washington Post]