'Meet the Press' transcript for Oct. 26, 2008

MR. TOM BROKAW:  Our issues this Sunday:  With just nine days to go, polls show Obama widening his lead over McCain while the Republican vice presidential nominee comes under increased criticism.  What will be McCain's final message to undecided voters?  We'll ask the candidate himself.  For the first time in nine months, our exclusive guest, Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain returns to MEET THE PRESS.

Then, insights and analysis on the presidential battleground states and the battle for congressional control, including a filibuster-proof U.S. Senate. Our political roundtable weighs in:  Charlie Cook, political analyst for the National Journal, editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report; Kelly O'Donnell, NBC News correspondent traveling with the McCain campaign; and Chuck Todd, political director of NBC News.

But first, we're live here in Waterloo, Iowa, with the Republican nominee for president, John McCain.

Senator, welcome back to MEET THE PRESS.

SEN. JOHN McCAIN (R-AZ):  Well, thank...

MR. BROKAW:  It's been a while.  I know you've been busy, but it's good to have you back here again.

SEN. McCAIN:  Well, thank you.  I noticed you mentioned, nine months.  I think I still have been more appearances on MEET THE PRESS than anybody else.

MR. BROKAW:  I think that's true, except maybe Bob Dole's probably got a few more than you.  But he's got a few years on you.

SEN. McCAIN:  Still time to catch up.

MR. BROKAW:  Listen, I, I don't have the most encouraging news for you today from the NBC News/Mason Dixon poll.  Here in Iowa, it now shows that Obama has a lead of 11 points, 51 to 40 points--percent.  Four years ago, as you know, George Bush won this state.  It's been determined a battleground state.  But the lead has been widening for Senator Obama right along the way.  I know you're a film buff, so let me begin with a film metaphor.  Do you feel more like Kevin Costner in the "Field of Dreams," or like George Clooney at the--at the tiller of the ship in "A Perfect Storm"?

SEN. McCAIN:  I, I think that I could draw my own, and I'd have to think of it, maybe, maybe "The Gipper." I feel like when--I feel like Knute Rockne when--at halftime when he said, "You go out there and get one for the Gipper." And look, those polls have been consistently shown me much further behind than we actually are.  It all depends on the voter turnout model.  And, and everybody gets bored except for us junkies about the process and aught.  We're doing fine.  We have closed in the last week.  We continue this close through next week, you're going to be up very, very late on election night.

We are very competitive in many of the battleground states, and I see these polls ranging from a 3 point gap today in Zogby to your 11 point one.  And they're all over the map; and, obviously, I choose to trust my senses as well as polls.  And the enthusiasm at almost all of our campaign events is at a higher level that I've ever seen.  And I've been in a lot of presidential campaigns, usually as the warm-up act or, you know, one of those things.  And I see intensity out there and I see passion.  So we're very competitive here, and I'm very happy with where we are and I'm very proud of the campaign that I've run.

MR. BROKAW:  Senator, in the last of the presidential debates moderated by Bob Schieffer, you drew greater distinction between yourself and George Bush. You said, "I am not George Bush." And then this past week in The Washington Times, a newspaper in Washington, this was the account, "Senator John McCain blasted President Bush for building a mountain of debt for future generations, failing to pay for expanding Medicare, and abusing executive powers, leveling his strongest criticism to date of the administration whose unpopularity may be dragging the Republican Party to the brink of a massive electoral defeat.

"`We just let things get completely out of hand,' he said of his own party's rule in the last eight years." But then we have an account of you on MEET THE PRESS going back to June 2005.

SEN. McCAIN:  Yes.

MR. BROKAW:  And this is what you had to say about your relationship with President Bush at that time.

(Videotape, June 19, 2005):

SEN. McCAIN:  The fact is that I'm different, but the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed.  And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I have been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.  So I strongly disagree with any assertion that I've been more at odds with the president of the United States than I have been in agreement with.

(End videotape)

(Videotape, March 5, 2008):

SEN. McCAIN:  Well, I'm very honored and humbled to have the opportunity to receive the endorsement of the president of the United States, a man who I have great admiration, respect and affection.  I intend to have as much possible campaigning events and--together as--in keeping with the president's heavy schedule, and I look forward to that opportunity.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW:  Senator McCain, both in tone and language, you are very close with President Bush in those appearances.  The Congressional Quarterly did a review of your votes, 92 percent of the time you voted with President Bush. So it's a little hard for the public to separate you from this administration, isn't it?

SEN. McCAIN:  Well, it may be the way you describe it.  And, by the way, the last interview that I did with The Washington Times, of course I've been repeating for the last eight years that the spending was out of control. That's why I voted against these projects--these pork barrel spending.  I was the harshest critic of the failed strategy in Iraq and pointed it out in hearing after hearing and fought against it.  I've supported action to address climate change, from--since 2000 and said we've got to do something about it. There were sharp disagreements there.  There were a number of disagreements on general overall philosophy.  I am a Republican.  I respect the president of the United States.  Of course we let spending get completely out of control, and I've been talking about it for a long, long period of time.

Now, I know how it is on this show.  You show various segments and comments that we make thousands of, and I understand that.  But the fact is I am not George Bush.  The fact is that I was not popular within my own party.  The fact is that when I said that we were failing in Iraq and we were going to lose, I was criticized by Republicans.  The fact is when I did campaign finance reform with Russ Feingold, I was opposed by my own party and my own president.  So do we share a common philosophy of the Republican Party?  Of course.  But I've, I've stood up against my party, not just President Bush, but others; and I've got the scars to prove it, including taking up, with Ted Kennedy, immigration reform, knowing full well that that was going to hurt my chances in the primaries.  So I could go down a long list of issues with you.

Do I respect President Bush?  Of course I respect him.  But I pointed out we were on the wrong track in a whole lot of ways, including a $10 trillion deficit, including saying we got to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and, and propose legislation to try to fix it before that triggered the housing collapse, including today when I'm saying they should be going out and buying up these mortgages and giving people mortgages that they can afford rather than bailing out the banks.

More from NBC News broadcasts   Stimulus a success – or sputtering?   World more violent – or is violence more visible? Teen prescription drug abuse an epidemic? Patient, MLB go to bat against ALS   BriTunes: The Great Lake Swimmers

MORE FROM MEET THE PRESS

Meet the Press Section Front

June 28: Axelrod, Romney, Graham, roundtable June 21: Netanyahu, Nunn, Thompson, Easton, Todd June 14: Biden, Murphy, Scarborough May 31: Leahy, Sessions, Owens, Schmidt, Mulcahy, roundtable May 24: Durbin, Gingrich, political roundtable May 17: Kaine, Steele, Haass, Noonan, Brownstein May 10: Karzai, Zardari, Coll, Mitchell May 3: Sebelius, Napolitano, Besser, Specter, Scarborough, Gillespie April 26: Gibbs, King Abdullah, Goodwin, Meacham April 19: Summers, roundtable Meet the Press Section Front   Add Meet the Press headlines to your news reader: