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LETTERMAN: No, I'm not breaking my back at all. But you talked about at the debates, balancing the budget – you said you know how to balance the budget. You know how to save billions. I think in the previous debate, you said you knew how to get Osama Bin Laden. Now did I hear correctly? Am I right about those?
MCCAIN: Not exactly connected, but...
LETTERMAN: No, I know they're not connected...but if you do, let's go.
Let's do these things. Let's get Bin Laden. Put that at the top of the list.
MCCAIN: In 19 days, I'll be elected...look –
LETTERMAN: Bin Laden. Let's just start there.
MCCAIN: First of all, obviously, you don't want to say exactly, but the point –
LETTERMAN: But you have a plan.
MCCAIN: I know what we need to do. OK? And one of the things we need to do is – we veer from serious to joking here, and I think that's fine – but we don't have sufficient human intelligence. We have great satellites. We know a lot of your conversations. So…But we don't have the ability to get people who look like the people who live there, who know the customs, who know the religion, who can infiltrate into the area. Look, this area where he's hiding out hasn't been governed by anybody since Alexander the Great.There are clans and families and groups of people.So we can go in…he has now – our intelligence, published, published, my friends. I don't have any secret information. There are sort of circles of people around where he is so that when somebody comes in and penetrates, the warning is sounded and he is able to escape.
LETTERMAN: Right, but you feel confidently that you have maybe the advantage of greater information than the current president. But you have an idea...
MCCAIN: I think I know, because of my many years being involved in these issues, how to develop a plan. One of the areas, of course, is human intelligence, which we're very baLETTERMANy lacking. And so I am confident that we can get him. Anybody who kills 3000 Americans – innocent Americans – we've got to get him. We have to. We must.
LETTERMAN: Yes, I mean…eight years later, let's go.
MCCAIN: You're exactly right.
LETTERMAN: Buddy of mine saw him in Trenton.
MCCAIN: I have no comment.
LETTERMAN: Let me talk about some of these – and it was brought up last night by Bob Schieffer, who talked about –
MCCAIN: Who did a good job, I thought.
LETTERMAN: Who did a fine job. Nice guy and a great job. He talked about campaigns – some questionable tactics on your part, some questionable tactics by Barack Obama. And for your part, when they go down the list, when they chronicle some of these things that are being hollered out from the crowd, regarding Barack Obama – “traitor, treason, terrorist” – and so on and so forth – and worse, as a matter of fact, that Barack Obama alluded to himself last night.
MCCAIN: Do you know what's being shouted out at his rallies? There's always a few fringe people who will abuse their Constitutional rights. Who will show up at these kinds of things and you'll get that fringe element. But I'd love for you to come to one of my rallies. They'd love to see you. A lot of fans of yours come to our rallies. But look, I have groups – rally I was at the other day, Military Wives for McCain. Veterans, wearing their hats from all the wars we were in. There are a few fringe people. There are a few fringe people that attend Senator Obama's rallies. But these are people who are involved and engaged in the political process and I'm very glad that they are. I'm' very glad they are. And I confront them, Dave. You saw that. I confront them when they say anything that is out of bounds, ok? I do.
LETTERMAN: Does your running mate also do that? Does she sit on them pretty good when this stuff comes up?
MCCAIN: She does. She doesn't countenance that kind of thing. I mean, nobody does. Senator Obama doesn't. Joe Biden doesn't.
LETTERMAN: But Senator, you yourself in previous campaigns have been the victim of some pretty nasty campaign abuse. So do you feel because of that or just because of your humanity you have a responsibility to lift your purpose here?
MCCAIN: I feel I have a responsibility that if someone says anything improper and I am within earshot…Look, people who are quote, GOPers, whom I've never known or heard of, made remarks about Senator Obama questioning his patriotism, etc. I have always repudiated those remarks, Dave. Every time there has been one. And yet he won't repudiate the remarks made by a man I admire and I've written a chapter in my book about, John Lewis. He linked Sarah Palin and me to segregation, George Wallace, and even the bombing of a church in Birmingham that killed four innocent young children. There's no room for that in American politics. And I was sorry that last night Senator Obama did not repudiate John Lewis who is a respected American hero, who...I can't tell you how saddened I was at those remarks.
LETTERMAN: But I thought it was addressed by Barack last night.
MCCAIN: He didn't repudiate them. Those remarks should be repudiated, made by anybody. So, look, these are tough times in America. You know that. This is what most people view as the most important race. And of course there is a negativism that's associated with it. But I'd also like to say again. I asked Senator Obama to do town hall meetings. I would love to have Senator Obama come on this show. And I'll sit there and he'll sit here and we'll debate the issues. But he would not do that. That changes the tenor of the campaign when you're on Dave Letterman and trying to defend yourself. So let me just say this. 19 more days. We had a good debate. We had three good debates. Now it's going to be a tough slog. And let's all keep it in bounds and be respectful. But there are differences. That's why we're different party and different philosophy.
LETTERMAN: No, I'm not breaking my back at all. But you talked about at the debates, balancing the budget – you said you know how to balance the budget. You know how to save billions. I think in the previous debate, you said you knew how to get Osama Bin Laden. Now did I hear correctly? Am I right about those?
MCCAIN: Not exactly connected, but...
LETTERMAN: No, I know they're not connected...but if you do, let's go.
Let's do these things. Let's get Bin Laden. Put that at the top of the list.
MCCAIN: In 19 days, I'll be elected...look –
LETTERMAN: Bin Laden. Let's just start there.
MCCAIN: First of all, obviously, you don't want to say exactly, but the point –
LETTERMAN: But you have a plan.
MCCAIN: I know what we need to do. OK? And one of the things we need to do is – we veer from serious to joking here, and I think that's fine – but we don't have sufficient human intelligence. We have great satellites. We know a lot of your conversations. So…But we don't have the ability to get people who look like the people who live there, who know the customs, who know the religion, who can infiltrate into the area. Look, this area where he's hiding out hasn't been governed by anybody since Alexander the Great.There are clans and families and groups of people.So we can go in…he has now – our intelligence, published, published, my friends. I don't have any secret information. There are sort of circles of people around where he is so that when somebody comes in and penetrates, the warning is sounded and he is able to escape.
LETTERMAN: Right, but you feel confidently that you have maybe the advantage of greater information than the current president. But you have an idea...
MCCAIN: I think I know, because of my many years being involved in these issues, how to develop a plan. One of the areas, of course, is human intelligence, which we're very baLETTERMANy lacking. And so I am confident that we can get him. Anybody who kills 3000 Americans – innocent Americans – we've got to get him. We have to. We must.
LETTERMAN: Yes, I mean…eight years later, let's go.
MCCAIN: You're exactly right.
LETTERMAN: Buddy of mine saw him in Trenton.
MCCAIN: I have no comment.
LETTERMAN: Let me talk about some of these – and it was brought up last night by Bob Schieffer, who talked about –
MCCAIN: Who did a good job, I thought.
LETTERMAN: Who did a fine job. Nice guy and a great job. He talked about campaigns – some questionable tactics on your part, some questionable tactics by Barack Obama. And for your part, when they go down the list, when they chronicle some of these things that are being hollered out from the crowd, regarding Barack Obama – “traitor, treason, terrorist” – and so on and so forth – and worse, as a matter of fact, that Barack Obama alluded to himself last night.
MCCAIN: Do you know what's being shouted out at his rallies? There's always a few fringe people who will abuse their Constitutional rights. Who will show up at these kinds of things and you'll get that fringe element. But I'd love for you to come to one of my rallies. They'd love to see you. A lot of fans of yours come to our rallies. But look, I have groups – rally I was at the other day, Military Wives for McCain. Veterans, wearing their hats from all the wars we were in. There are a few fringe people. There are a few fringe people that attend Senator Obama's rallies. But these are people who are involved and engaged in the political process and I'm very glad that they are. I'm' very glad they are. And I confront them, Dave. You saw that. I confront them when they say anything that is out of bounds, ok? I do.
LETTERMAN: Does your running mate also do that? Does she sit on them pretty good when this stuff comes up?
MCCAIN: She does. She doesn't countenance that kind of thing. I mean, nobody does. Senator Obama doesn't. Joe Biden doesn't.
LETTERMAN: But Senator, you yourself in previous campaigns have been the victim of some pretty nasty campaign abuse. So do you feel because of that or just because of your humanity you have a responsibility to lift your purpose here?
MCCAIN: I feel I have a responsibility that if someone says anything improper and I am within earshot…Look, people who are quote, GOPers, whom I've never known or heard of, made remarks about Senator Obama questioning his patriotism, etc. I have always repudiated those remarks, Dave. Every time there has been one. And yet he won't repudiate the remarks made by a man I admire and I've written a chapter in my book about, John Lewis. He linked Sarah Palin and me to segregation, George Wallace, and even the bombing of a church in Birmingham that killed four innocent young children. There's no room for that in American politics. And I was sorry that last night Senator Obama did not repudiate John Lewis who is a respected American hero, who...I can't tell you how saddened I was at those remarks.
LETTERMAN: But I thought it was addressed by Barack last night.
MCCAIN: He didn't repudiate them. Those remarks should be repudiated, made by anybody. So, look, these are tough times in America. You know that. This is what most people view as the most important race. And of course there is a negativism that's associated with it. But I'd also like to say again. I asked Senator Obama to do town hall meetings. I would love to have Senator Obama come on this show. And I'll sit there and he'll sit here and we'll debate the issues. But he would not do that. That changes the tenor of the campaign when you're on Dave Letterman and trying to defend yourself. So let me just say this. 19 more days. We had a good debate. We had three good debates. Now it's going to be a tough slog. And let's all keep it in bounds and be respectful. But there are differences. That's why we're different party and different philosophy.
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