Transcript for Martha Raddatz: McCain ‘grateful every single day’ to be able to help veterans
Gel Petraeus, thank you for your time and your tribute this morning. It’s privilege. Thanks, George. It to bringn Jonathan , Martha rtz and cokie Roberts as well. Martha, let me begin withyo pig up on general Petraeus, and just heard about John McCain’s devotion to the military. That is someg you saw up close. Up close and all th and it never wavered. We keelkout his time as a P.O.W. That’s Reay where John McCain was forged as a fighter for veterans. I have talked to him just last September about when and how often he visited Vietnam memorial wall. Imagine John McCain walking often G those, more than 58,000 names those people who didn’t make I that’s who John McCain was. He nevergot them. D to help trans at all times, dtehe went thh. I think he was grateful every single day, gore could do just th and Jon, what yaw up close, going back to 2000, that talk express oe presidential can if0 was the way that John M eedhe press. Critics would often say the press was his constituency. He seemed to enjoy the That campaign, that 2000 presidential campaigs unlike anything ir covered, GE. A rollickshow aboa that bus.he long shot candidate with virtually no money campaign. He was going up against George W. Bush who essential already behrthe reican nominee T the establisnd those money. His campaign was about what general petraealked Abou rving a cause greater than oneself.he fought that. He talked tos all D long, George. I spent more time with McCain Ng that campaign than he spent with campaign mar back T ys on the record, always someu just wished you could get away to get your thouts togetheut I have this photo there on P phone. , Like, cay stories inh ting two sea away F, constantlyng, constantly and making news because he ‘T have the money to run a tal campaianen he won the Hampshire imby 17 he said recently that that was the victory, the greatest political years later when htually wonhe a saint. Not above making political calculations, but also you P out. Not afraid to admit mistakes in south rolina after Heon in new shire, he went was what to do with the conlag which at that point was of the capitol building McCain’s personal bf was it should down, but he T would cause — he convinced that would cost him votes so when asked Abo it, hesaid, no. It’s something that should here. It’s heritage, at E him. D tell he S not — H T true to himself. I spoke to him about it shortly R he lost utcarolina I that he wato make that right. That that was wrong, THA did something that he rarely did in politics. He was not true to liefs and after thmp he went back to south Carolina and he did effecly a mea culpa, and said it was a mistake the right ING. It was amazing. Cokie Roberts, his proudest political victory new ir as said, but also proud of the birtisan achievements many –congress. Absolutely. You hearom flake, he came to congress, E big liberal death reached out him and he learned a lot about . That compromthe way to th done, ande constantly reached out to demoats to try to get legislatmplished.most famouy course, mccain/feingold, at finance legislation, and Y heard leader Pelosi tag T giving credit. Speech heave after the bill fly passed,e took her out as an example of someone who had really done a great job, he did that over and over again after feeated. He reachut to sheln house, a Democrat from Rhode Isla he took with all these people. Difficult trips. These were to awful es where er was in the ai on the streets, but he hose trips to educate the members of the senate, rticularly of the other party et to know them, be friends of them, and show them his respect, and that was imant and frankly, George, is missing in the senate today. Are we going to see a McCain senate office building? It would be a useful thing. As Phil hart, the senator of Michigan wying of car theyed a new blding after M, and the hope was he would be rbered as the man who I think to have a building named for McCain will keep his memoryve at T until people STA it the McCain building. Cokie, Martha, Jon. O McCain’s life and legacy, and up
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