Sen. John McCain talks to WSLS

By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: October 12, 2008

Read the transcript below of the interview 10 On Your Side’s Jay Warren conducted with Senator John McCain Sunday afternoon

WARREN: “SENATOR, THANKS FOR JOINING US.“

MCCAIN: “It’s a pleasure.“

WARREN: “LET’S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR CAMPAIGN IN VIRIGNIA. FOR 40 YEARS IT HAS BEEN A RELIABLY REPUBLICAN STATE AT THE PRESIDENTIAL LEVEL, YET YOU’RE HAVING TO SPEND SIGNIFICANT TIME HERE. WHY IS THAT?“

MCCAIN: “McCain: Well, I think we’re fighting hard all over America. We’ve always been the underdog, we love being the underdog. Pundits have written off my campaign more times than I can enumerate. We’ll win in Virginia. We have a lot of work to do, but I’m confident that we’ll succeed.“

WARREN: “WILL WE SEE YOU HERE IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA BEFORE THE CAMPAIGN IS OVER?“

MCCAIN: “I am sure you will Jay.“

WARREN: “THERE’S WORD OUT TODAY THAT YOU WILL ACTUALLY HAVE A NEW PLAN TO SAVE OUR ECONOMY TO BE PRESENTED TOMORROW. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THAT PLAN?“

MCCAIN: “Because of the worsening situation, we have to look at other options and other action that needs to be taken in addition to what has already been taken. We’ll be talking about them in the next 23 days. But let me also say, we have to keep homeowners in their homes. The catalyst for this was the collapse of the housing in America. I want homeowners to be able to negotiate a new mortgage at the new value of their home so they can stay in their home. This if vital if we’re going to turn this economy around.“

WARREN: “LET’S TALK ABOUT THE BAILOUT PLAN THAT YOU SUPPORTED. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT, AT LEAST THAT WAS THE HOPE. HAS IT WORKED YET?“

MCCAIN: “Well, of course not. But I do believe that if we had not passed it things would be, if you can believe it, worse. When it looked like it wasn’t going to pass, the DOW dropped 700 points in one single day, wiping out 1.2 trillion of Americans’ savings and pensions. Small businesses across America were harmed.“

WARREN: “WHY IS IT NOT WORKING, IS THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT NOT MOVING FAST ENOUGH. WE’RE SEE IN GREAT BRITIAN THEY ARE MOVING WITHIN DAYS, OUR TREASURY DEPARTMENT IS SAYING IT COULD TAKE WEEKS FOR OUR BAILOUT PLAN TO BE ENACTED. IS TREASURY MOVING TOO SLOWLY?“

MCCAIN: “Of course they’re not moving fast enough. They’re not moving fast enough in a broad number of areas and they’ve got to move faster. They’ve got to spend the money, get what needs to be done, and worry about the fine print later on. There is not swift enough action, no doubt about that.“

WARREN: “WE HAVE A COUPLE OF SECOND REMAINING, THE CHAIR OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN VIRGINIA HAS SAID, QUOTE IN TIME MAGAZINE, “BOTH BARACK OBAMA AND OSAMA BIN LADEN HAVE FRIENDS THAT HAVE BOMBED THE PENTAGON. THAT IS SCARY.“ IS THAT APPROPRIATE FOR A STATE PARTY CHAIR TO BE SAYING?“

MCCAIN: “I have to look at the context of his remarks. I have always repudiated any comments that have been made that were inappropriate about Senator Obama. The fact is that William Ayers was a terrorist and bomber and unrepentant. I don’t care about that. But, Sen. Obama ought be the candid and truthful about his relationship with Mr. Ayers in whose living room Sen. Obama launched his campaign and Sen. Obama said he was just a guy in the neighborhood.“

WARREN: “SEN. MCCAIN WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME, WE WANT TO SAY THANK FOR SPENDING SOME TIME WITH US, WE DO HOPE TO SEE YOU HERE IN SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA IN THE COMING DAYS.“

MCCAIN: “Thank you Jay, I look forward to being back. Thanks again.“