Good Morning America - Transcript

SHOW: GOOD MORNING AMERICA (07:00 AM ET) - ABC

August 30, 2004 Monday

CHARLES GIBSON, ABC NEWS

(Off Camera) All right. Thanks very much, Diane. We are joined now from the convention floor by Senator John McCain, Republican, Arizona, who will be addressing the convention tonight and is in something of an unusual position being courted both by President Bush and by Senator John Kerry, it seems. They both curry your favor. (speaker noise) Whoa, and the loud speaker every once in a while here in the hall goes off. Senator, let me start asking you about the swift boat ads.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, REPUBLICAN, ARIZONA

Mm hmm.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) You have called them dishonest ...

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yes.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) ... and dishonorable.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yes.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) Why won't the president disown them, condemn them?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

The president has condemned the 527's and he's agreed to work to try to make these organizations live under the same campaign finance contributions as other campaigns are. In other words, this is dirty money. The president, I believe, I, of course I want him to denounce this ad specifically, but also maybe we should have ...

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) But why won't he, Senator?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

... some of the ads that are attacking President Bush and calling him a liar denounced as well.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) But -a new poll, 77 percent of the people have seen these ads ...

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yeah.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) ... and they've registered in their consciousness.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yes. Yes, they have.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) These ads attack the war record ...

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yes.

graphics: anti-kerry "swift boat" ads

graphics: 77% have seen them

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) ... of a man who served in Vietnam where you served. They are having more impact than any other ads.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yeah.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) You've campaigned with the president.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yes.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) He even gave you a kiss on the forehead the other day, I'll ask you about that in a minute. But, but have you said to him, Mr. President, you need to disown these? They -disgrace your campaign?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

I have not talked to him in the last week or so. I did talk to him about the 527's, going to court and to legislatively to act to bring them under control.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) But that ...

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

All I can do ...

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) But that shouldn't be necessary.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yeah, look ...

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) The Federal Elections Commission ought to take care of that, shouldn't they?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

The Federal Elections Commission is the most disgraceful and -and incredibly terrible regulatory body in government. Ellen Weintraub and Bradley Smith are a disgrace. They should have long ago said that these organizations need to abide by campaign contribution limits. They're taking dirty money, soft money, and it's just skewing the whole American political process.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) The head of the Swift Boats Veterans has said he's going to keep pummeling Kerry with these ads right up 'til election day. What do you think of that?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

I, I, as I say, I think it's disgraceful and I wish that the ads that are calling President Bush a liar and questioning his integrity would be stopped as well. But the reason why the Swift Boat ads are so egregious is because we're ripping open all the wounds that we had hoped had healed from the Vietnam War, and that's why. There's so many veterans that wanted to get this behind them and some had great trouble getting this behind them. Now that's all opened up again. And let me just also say anything that John Kerry did after the war, it's fine. It's fine. That's, that's fair game. But you shouldn't question people what they did in combat, and there's one thing we know about combat, there's always different stories that come out of a different, out of the same event.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) You're going to give a speech supporting the president tonight.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yes.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) Just, in five minutes, I sat down, on a piece of paper, and wrote down the issues on which you disagree with this president. Patients' bill of rights, tax cuts, global warming, oil drilling in Alaska, the gay marriage amendment, more troops in Iraq ...

graphics: mccain vs. bush

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Mm hmm. And I could give you another list on free trade, on support for going to Afghanistan, support for our effort in Iraq, deregulation, telecommunications reform. There's another long list of issues that I could show you that I'm also in agreement with the president on. Of course we've disagreed on some specific issues and some important ones. But the overriding issue, the transcending issue, is the war on terror and I believe that President Bush has proven himself the leader that we need for the next four years.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) And do you think he'd be better in that war than Senator Kerry?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yes.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) You do. Why?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Yes.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) Where is Senator Kerry ...

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Because I think he's proven himself. I'm not saying that John Kerry is weak. I'm sure he would do a good job. This president has proven himself, has already proven himself. On September 14, not very long from here, not very far from here, where he rallied the nation.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) Let me ask you what I suspect is probably not your favorite question, but there are some people who say John McCain doesn't fit in this party any more, there's really no room for moderate Republicans, and the reason he's campaigning so strongly for President Bush is his own presidential ambitions for 2008 have not died and he needs to get good guy points.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Well, first of all, I hope that that would not be the, the charges far as why I'm supporting the president. I think most Americans know that I do what I think is right, sometimes at some political cost. The second thing is as far as, quote, moderates are concerned, I'm a conservative. You look at my voting record and I'm very conservative. Third of all, I think when you look at, there's a segment of our party, Rudy Giuliani, Schwarzenegger, our star, and, and others who will be seen here by America and by the convention, could not, could be described as, quote, moderate, but more importantly, very popular national figures.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) Presidential ambitions, 2008?

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

I'm up for re-election in the Senate and I want to get that done. I have no plans, nor have I contemplated 2008. And for me to say I would completely rule it out, Charlie, one reality is, I'm not getting any younger.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) All right. Senator McCain ...

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Thank you.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) Always good to have you here.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

It's a pleasure.

CHARLES GIBSON

(Off Camera) Happy birthday yesterday, by the way.

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN

Thank you.