Taking Notes on the Straight Talk Express
March 19, 2007
Ok, so you want some straight talk about John McCain? Let me take you to the pages of my reporter notebook. I was on John McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus all day Saturday in New Hampshire. (video clips coming soon) It’s really somewhat of a surreal experience. You’re in the back of the bus (a very nice bus I might add) with a few other journalists and we’re all sitting around Senator McCain. We can ask him anything we want, all on the record. I could give you the typical boilerplate run of the mill policy issues he discussed but I want to give you more than just that. So, here is what I wrote on my reporter’s notebook during the bus ride.
He says there’s a great deal of concern about immigration
The chances are pretty good that immigration legislation will be introduced and begin moving forward in the next couple of weeks. McCain says we need to convince people that this is not amnesty and we must do something on this bill in 2 months are presidential politics will take over.
On embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: “Am I concerned? Of course. He has a lot of explaining to do.”
MCcain admits that he’ll make a lot of mistakes along the way and will end up on You Tube down the road but he’s not going to stop the open access to reporters. (thank you)
He calls Islam “an honorable religion” that has been corrupted by radicals like Bin Laden and many others.
On the lighter side, McCain is a huge sports fan. He tried to get the NCAA Tournament on in the bus but for some reason, we couln’t get it. We settled for ESPN bull riding instead.
He loves all sports but boxing seems to be a passion. He was an amateur boxer in his youth and follows the sport closely. He’s excited about the big fight coming up between Mayweather and DeLaHoya. He’s actually going to be at the fight in Vegas.
Some of his favorite books? Dangerous Nations, Looming Tower, The Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls.
He loves musician Roy Orbison and one of his favorite movies recently was Letters from Iwa Jima. He thought Babel was just OK and hasn’t seen Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”
As President, he promised to hold press conferences with the media every two weeks.
When asked by a reporter why he wanted this job of President, he responded, “When I was in prison, I received a sharp blow to the head.” His real answer was public service.
He thinks Hillary Clinton is a very hard working Senator and will be a formidable challenge for the presidency.
On President Bush he says, “I happen to like this President and I’m happy he’s President of the United States.”
He says Bush won in 2000 because he had a better financial and political base.
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