Undeterred by a recent Public Policy Polling poll that showed he has only a 30% job approval in his native Arizona, Sen. John McCain said on Fox Business’ “Cavuto” that he is considering running for reelection. McCain denied the poll was accurate, saying, “There is a bogus poll out there. I can sense the people of my state. When I travel around, which I do constantly, they like me, and I am very grateful.” McCain said he was “seriously considering” running for reelection in 2016, and would make the call “early next year.” He did reject the idea of running for president, allowing, “I’m afraid that it is not a viable option.”
McCain also responded to criticism from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who said last week of McCain’s 2008 presidential bid, “When you don’t stand and draw a clear distinction, you don’t stand for principal, Democrats celebrate.” McCain fired back, “Look, it’s all fair in politics and Senator Cruz, who I have a cordial relationship with, can say what he wants about me … we are friendly, we really are.”
But McCain did take some shots at GOP luminaries who claimed the mantle of Ronald Reagan at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week. He said, “All of these people at the CPAC will claim that they are Reagan Republicans. Did they forget that Ronald Reagan gave amnesty to three million Americans? Do they forget that he did raise taxes, that he made an agreement with Tip O’Neill on Social Security, that Ronald Reagan said [the] 11th commandment is you don’t speak ill of your fellow Republicans?”
McCain also condoned the raising of taxes as a means of dealing with the opposition vis-à-vis entitlement reform. He concluded, “Look, you have to put everything on the table. If you don’t put everything on the table, then the opposite side says, ‘OK, but we’re not going to agree to, say, raising the retirement age.’ “
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