Transcript: The Times Interviews John McCain

By Adam Nagourney and Michael Cooper - New York Times
Monday, July 14, 2008 - Web Link
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July 13, 2008

Following are excerpts of a transcript of an interview conducted by The New York Times's Adam Nagourney and Michael Cooper with Senator John McCain in Hudson, Wisconsin, on July 11. The answers are transcribed verbatim; some of the questions are paraphrased. The other people Mr. McCain refers to, who were in the room, are his wife, Cindy; Mark Salter, a senior adviser; Brook Buchanan, his press secretary; and John Taylor, an economic adviser.

Q: How do you think of your self as a conservative. Do you think of yourself more as a Goldwater conservative or Reagan conservative or George W. Bush conservative.

Senator John McCain: A Teddy Roosevelt conservative, I think. He’s probably my major role model, we could go back to Lincoln, of course. In the 20th century Teddy Roosevelt. I think Teddy Roosevelt he had a great vision of America’s role in the 20th Century. He was a great environmentalist. He loved the country. He is the person who brought the government into a more modern – into the 20th century as well. He was probably engaged more in national security slash international affairs that any president ever been. I understand that TR had failings. I understand that every one of my role models had failings. TR became embittered at the end, we all know that. If you look at his presidency, if you looked at his reformist agenda from the time he was the police commissioner in New York City…..